Miai
by Nocturnal Supremacy
Summary: Miai- Looking at one another. Killer Bee jumps headfirst into arranged marriage to better relations with the Land of Iron but he get more than he bargained for. How can you marry someone you don't even know? KillerBee/OC- Romance/Humor/Drama
1. Prologue: What were you thinking?

_AN: I noticed that Killer Bee has a grand total of 0 romantic fics here on FF. At first I sort of hoped that by simply wanting someone to write one it would somehow magically happen. No such luck. _

_So the idea of writing one burrowed into by head and festered there for a while until it started driving me crazy. This will be my third FF buuut it's summer and I'm feeling ambitious, so I should be able to juggle all three at once…or so I hope. _

_I don't usually like using over-used plot devices but in this instance I guess I'm going to- so yes this is going to be an arranged marriage story. Hopefully I'll be able to pull some of the cliché out of it though. A.) The parents aren't total asses who simply want to get rid of their daughter. B.) Bee's significant other (before the arrangement) isn't a jealous evil bitch. C.) Twu-wuv will not be attained within a few days/chapters. D.) I've actually done my homework and have been researching current and past laws and protocol concerning arranged marriage and not just for Japan but for other countries as well. _

_I am looking for a beta-reader but I will admit I am difficult to work with, in that I want things finished ASAP. If you feel up to the task you can PM me here or on my DA account (link on my profile)_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Prologue: What were you thinking?<strong>_

* * *

><p>"It becomes difficult therefore to predict the ideal sort of marriage. So ultimately it is up to the individual to decide whether he wants to have a love or an arranged marriage after all it is a question of being happy in love." -<em>Nayan S. Mijar<em>

* * *

><p>A settled back into his in chair in the lightning daimyo's large and overly embellished sitting area, his foot twitching impatiently. The lightning daimyo and his brother were prattling on, giving their opinions on things A seriously doubted they had any real knowledge on, things like border patrol, training of new shinobi, and the status of Killer Bee. They were entitled to their occasional status reports but A couldn't understand why he absolutely needed to be there for this particular one. He had sort of been hoping for some sort of worthwhile news but so far the meeting had been rather boring.<p>

"Bee seems to be holding up then?" the daimyo's brother asked in such a way that it caused A's brow to arch suspiciously.

"Better than previous Jinchuriki, yes," A replied stiffly.

"He's unwed, correct?"

A's mouth twitched into a rueful smile. Bee, married? The idea was laughable, he lived up to his name in such that like a Bee he jumped from "flower" to "flower", never really settling for very long. His adopted brother was about to turn thirty and although A had hoped that he would eventually settle down the chances seemed slim.

"No, he's not married."

"Attached?" the daimyo's brother continued to prod. He voice was a little more strained and A couldn't help but notice the way he sat up a little more in his chair. Some sort of eagerness was absolutely radiating off the man. A's eyes narrowed, he was dancing around something rather than just coming out and saying it, a behavior that greatly tried A's patience.

"Mifune, of the Land of Iron, has expressed an interest in Bee," the lightning daimyo said evenly. His brother was more apt to talking with people of political value which, judging by the look on A's face, was not appreciated.

"Interest?" A repeated slowly. Considering they had been previously been talking about Bee's relationship status, the daimyo's statement greatly disturbed him, the last time he checked Mifune was a man.

"For one of his daughters," the daimyo continued before A could make his concerns known.

"Like arraigning a marriage?" A asked, unsure if he was hearing him correctly.

"A marriage would be beneficial for both of our countries," the daimyo's brother said. "The land of iron is notoriously neutral but this marriage could possibly lead to warmer relations between us. They could be a valuable ally if war were to ever break out."

"But what would _they_ be getting out of it?" asked A. He had to admit better relations with the land of iron did sound promising but he didn't see how it would benefit them.

"There's a certain level of prestige associated with one's child being married to _the_ most powerful junchiriki currently in existence," the daimyo's brother smirked.

"You mean he would get bragging rights?" A deadpanned.

"Exactly," the daimyo chuckled. "I assume that he also believes that Bee would feel obligated to protect the land of his wife's origin if it ever came under attack."

"That's not like Bee," A snorted.

"He doesn't know that and we don't need to correct his viewpoint."

"So just better relations and bragging rights?"

It sounded like a good deal but not quite enough to convince him to bring the subject to Bee. A knew Bee would do anything he believed A wanted and A didn't want to abuse that fact.

"She would come with a nice dowry, a portion of which would go to Bee himself," said the daimyo. "Mifune also mentioned relaxing our borders with would stimulate trade."

"How much of a dowry are we talking here?" asked A.

"Depends on the daughter but anywhere from 24 to 32 million ryo." (AN: Approx 3 million to 4 million USD)

"Who chooses which daughter?"

"That would be for Mifune to decide, if Bee agrees to this he has asked to meet you personally. He holds to old traditions and believes that it is the parent's obligation to assure that they marry their children into harmonious relationships. You are the closest thing to a parent that Bee has so I assume that he will be asking for your input."

"Thirty two _million_," A mumbled under his breath. That was an impressive number but it still didn't add up.

"That's a lot to pay just for bragging rights."

"What is a nation without presence?" the daimyo asked. "The village of Iron likes to keep to its own but it doesn't want to become completely overlooked. This marriage would be widely known and would be a way of getting other nations to acknowledge that it's still there."

"I'll talk to Bee."

Even as the words fell from his mouth A couldn't believe what we was saying. Saying that he would talk to be was the equivalent to agreeing. Bee would never say no.

"_Keh, who knows maybe this will settle Bee down a bit," _A thought hopefully.

* * *

><p>"You want me to get married?" Bee asked, for once too completely and utterly confused and shocked to actually try rhyming anything.<p>

"I don't _want_ you to get married," said A, still trying to work out a better way of explaining all of this to Bee without sounding biased in any way. "I'm asking if you would, _consider_ it."

A sighed and set the barbell he had been lifting onto the bench-press. Bee looked too distracted to be spotting him and the last thing he wanted was to get a cramp and end up decapitating himself.

"To _who_ again?"

"As I told you before, I don't know. If you agree to this _then_ that will be decided."

"Well how can I decide if I don't ever know _who_ I would be marrying?"

A arched a brow, for once Bee was actually thinking rather than simply doing what he thought A wanted.

"Those were the terms I was given," said A. "You don't have to agree to this, I was just bringing it to your attention."

"What would I get, y'know in exchange."

"Other than a wife?" A laughed. "You would get a third of her dowry which would be anywhere between 8 million and 10 million ryo."

"Why only a third?" Bee scoffed, looking a little jaded.

"A third will go to you, a third to the village, and a third to the daimyo."

"So you'll get paid if I agree to this? Psshft, why aren't _you_ the one getting saddled with a wife then?"

"I'm not getting paid, the money will go to the village and Mifune wants _you_, not me."

"What else would the village get?" Bee asked uncomfortably as he glanced out the window.

"Relaxed borders with Iron, increased trade and better relations. They're still a neutral country but this could be considered an… under the table alliance."

"Will you be picking her?"

"_If_, you agree to this," said A, being sure to stress the if. "Mifune has requested I meet with him to discuss which of his daughters will be chosen, but ultimately the decision will be up to him."

"Why didn't he ask to meet with me? Could introduce me to each of his daughters and then make a judgment after that."

A shook his head with a frown. "People like him believe that parents know their children better than their children know themselves, so parents are more qualified to make decisions about future spouses."

Part of A agreed with Mifune but he felt like he controlled so many other aspects of Bee's life, who me married seemed to be pushing it. A jinchuriki wasn't able to make decisions on their own as far as the welfare of the village was concerned but although this did affect the village A still felt like he didn't have the right to make this particular decision.

"Ah, so now you're my parent?" Bee laughed, like with anything he was trying to make light of the situation.

"Just give it some thought okay," A sighed, rolling his eyes. He didn't need jokes right now.

"I agree."

"To give it some thought?"

"No, I'll do it."

"Bee, you can't just…"

"Naw, I've made up my mind but do me a favor, make sure she's attractive before you sign any paper."

A gaped at Bee as he once again pulled out his rhyme book and began jotting things down. True there had been a moment of uncertainty but Bee was once again barreling into unknown waters without fully comprehending the consequences.

* * *

><p>"Married…uh…<em>ferried<em>?" Bee mumbled to himself. Not many words rhymed with married.

"_**I can't believe you agreed to this,"**_ Hachibi grumbled.

"I never thought I would marry and I gotta admit the notion is scary."

"_Married_?" Yugito repeated again, completely unaware of the conversation going in between Hachibi and Bee.

"_**He's an idiot,"**_ Nibi supplied, trying to break his vessel from the stupor she was in.

"_Even so, I never would have believed that Bee would agree to something _this_ ridiculous," _Yigito replied to her tailed beast.

"Do you know anything about her?" Yagito asked Bee.

Bee sighed and set his book and pencil down long enough to quickly fill Yagito in on all the details.

"…so one hasn't even been picked out yet."

"So you have no idea what kind of person you're going to be tied down to?" Yagito snapped once the shock had worn off. "I mean do you understand what it means to be married to someone, and what about…what's her name? What are you going to tell her?"

"Isawa? I was gonna drop by her place later and let her know what's goin on," Bee shrugged.

"Oh yeah, that'll go over real great," Yugito said sarcastically. "Oh hey, yeah I figured I would stop by and tell you that I agreed to marry a complete stranger."

"It's not like it was serious."

"Three months, longer than most of your relationships!"

"…and it would have ended eventually anyway," Bee replied. Bee's heart and gut sank simultaneously. The truth was he wasn't sure if it would have ended, Isawa was a sweet woman, and she was kind and funny as well as beautiful. He would do what was best for the village but he hated that she would get hurt in the process.

"Don't s'pose I could get you to break it to her?" Bee breathed. The enormity of the situation was finally catching up with him.

"She'd hate you if I did. If I were you I would go back to A and tell him you've changed your mind."

"Aint gonna do that."

"Bee…"

"Minds already made up and…" Bee's voice trailed off. He couldn't even think of a rhyme. He was forced to admit that this was something that he did _not_ want and no amount of denial was going to change that.

* * *

><p>"She looks so calm," Kayono sighed.<p>

"Or course she's calm, she knows father would never choose her," said Suboshi bitterly.

"He could," Momoka peeped.

The sisters exchanged looks and then all three sets of eyes fell back to their youngest sister as she meticulously prepared for their afternoon tea. Unlike the three of them, their sister was almost an exact duplicate of their mother in both appearance and personality. As a result of these similarities their father, Mifune, had always favored her, though to outside parties it seemed quite the opposite.

Ginkiri, their sister, had never received any sort of training, she was hardly ever taken to political social events, and she had the lowest dowry out of the four of them. Indeed most people assumed that Mifune looked down on his youngest daughter but his other three children knew differently. She was never trained because that would make her more appealing to suitors looking for a physically strong wife, she was never taken to social events because Mifune didn't want her to catch the eye of any young lords, and her dowry was the lowest to discourage anyone looking for financial gain.

"Chickens cackling in a barn," Hachi tittered as she stepped behind the three women. "It's not polite to stand around and speculate on such things."

The three sisters turned to glare at their nurse-maid. When their father announced that the Raikage had accepted his offer for an arranged marriage the three women had been put into a sour mood.

"We're not speculating," Suboshi snapped. "It's true."

"You don't know that for certain," Hachi cooed. She was well accustomed to Suboshi's harsh attitude and her little outbursts rarely ever had an effect on her. "Your father believes in harmony and will base his decision on how harmonious that union would be."

"I heard the eight tales is a beast," Kayono snorted. "So I guess if father is looking for _harmony_, Suboshi would be his best choice."

"Shut up," Suboshi groused.

"I've heard a number of things about the eight-tails," said Hachi. "He is quite strong, so in that respect Suboshi would be a good match, but I've also heard that he's humorous so he might be better suited for someone like you Kayono. Then again, I've also heard that he has little to no interest into political subjects so a wife like Momoka could be very beneficial."

"And Ginkiri?" Suboshi drawled.

"I've heard that despite his strength he's also very kind and compassionate so someone as gentle as Ginkiri could also be a good choice."

"When is the Raikage supposed to be here anyway?" Suboshi sighed, she had a horrible feeling that _she_ was going to be the one chosen.

"Within three days," said Hachi. "If the weather is permitting. So I would expect Yana bustling around you four until then."

The three women groaned in unison. Yana was their governess and in their opinion was the most uptight woman to ever exist. The four sisters were well past the ages where they needed nursemaids and governesses but their father insisted on still having them around.

"Sit up straight!" Kayono said mockingly.

"Fold your hands like so!" added Suboshi is the same mocking tone.

"Do not mock those who are only trying to help you," a tight voice said from behind the cluster of women.

* * *

><p>"When exactly where you planning on telling me?" Isawa bellowed as she paced back and forth across her small living room. He long teal locks bellowed out around her as she pivoted on one heal, turning to begin pacing in the opposite direction.<p>

Bee shifted uncomfortably as he watched the woman continue to rant. It had been three days since he had agreed to the arranged marriage but he had yet to actually tell Isawa about it. When A left that morning got the Land of Iron his reasons for the visit had been made public, and naturally Isawa had heard about it. He regretted not telling her personally but he hadn't been sure about how to bring the subject up.

"Eventually," Bee mumbled.

"Eventually, _eventually_?" Isawa laughed hollowly. She turned to face Bee, her pail green eyes ablaze with anger and betrayal. "Bee how could you even _agree_ to something like this?"

"It's important to the village," Bee defended but his voice lacked the conviction to back himself up.

"Do I mean so little to you?" Isawa asked, her shoulders slumping and her voice cracking.

Bee reached for her as silent sobs wrecked through her body but Isawa pulled away.

"Isn't there any way out of this?" she pleaded through her tears.

Bee cringed; he hated to see women cry.

"No."

No, there really was no way out now. He had agreed and although he had time to back out he hadn't and now it was too late. A had already left and was well on his way to the Land of Iron. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting but this certainly wasn't it. Isawa was heartbroken, Yugito made a point of expressing her displeasure each and every time she saw him, even his three young apprentices weren't very happy with him.

"_**You've dug yourself into quite a whole Bee," **_said Hachibi.

Bee's body sagged under the weight of it all.

* * *

><p>AN: There we have it.<p>

You might be thinking to yourself "Bee doesn't seem very Bee-ish without his rapping"

-The poor guy is going through a lot right now and… flat out his rapping annoys me and I suck an rhyming stuff… But rest-assured I will be adding bits here and there but all of this dialogue is NOT going to be rapping.


	2. Chapter 1: Meetings

**_Chapter 1: Meetings._**

* * *

><p><em>"<strong>We who are of <strong>_**noble blood**_** may not follow the wishes of our hearts."**_

* * *

><p>"…which is completely preposterous."<p>

Mifune arched a brow, he hadn't been paying attention to what his youngest daughter had been saying so he really wasn't sure what exactly she found preposterous but she seemed perturbed so he chose to frown and nod. Usually he would patiently listen to his daughter but today there were issues and doubt clouding his mind. The Raikage would be arriving at any moment, he knew that he had already crossed their border.

The day his first daughter was born he knew that one day it would fall upon him to choose a suitable husband for her and the same went for the three girls born after her but he hadn't counted on it being quite so difficult. Suboshi was about to turn twenty-seven, Momoka was twenty-five, Kayono had just turned twenty-four and Ginkiri was twenty-two. By normal standards each of them should have already been married off but Mifune had pushed back such arrangements as long as he could. His daughters were precious to him and ideally he preferred that they never married.

He was beginning to regret making the proposition to the village hidden in the clouds though. Initially it had been made with Suboshi in mind but now he wasn't so sure. She was the eldest and the strongest of his four girls so he had figured she would be a good match for the eight tails jinchuriki but as he learned more and more about Bee he began to think otherwise. Suboshi was strict, demanding, and became extremely distraught when samurai ideals were challenged, to pair her with a ninja of any kind would lead to unneeded tension.

Suboshi was out of the question.

As more and more information about Bee filtered in the most obvious match became apparent but it still wasn't something he wanted to admit to himself. His youngest daughter was soft spoken and gentle which would off-set and compliment a more robust personality like Bee's. She was also level-headed and calm, yet another complimenting personality trait to Bee.

Balance was important in relationships, but Mifune knew that not everything could be built on opposites; they would need things in common. With this thought in mind he began to dismiss the notion of marrying Ginkiri to Bee… until he began to notice a reoccurring theme within the junchiriki's nature. He had a tendency to show a great deal of compassion which, if true, was something that he held in common with his daughter.

It all added up but in desperation he began looking to his other two daughters. Kayono was very humorous and could always be found laughing about something or another but she was also loud and opinionated. To couple her with someone like Bee would result in a very loud partnership, which wasn't harmonious as all.

Momoka was still a possibility. Like Ginkiri she was very calm but all similarities ended there. Momoka found pleasure in things that would normally put people to sleep. Listening to people talk of politics was one of her favorite activities. She might be _good_ for someone like Bee but ultimately they both would be miserable.

"_Would you really be able to keep one daughter at the expense of the happiness of another?" _Mifune wondered.

Suboshi could find happiness in a fellow samurai.

Momoka could find happiness in a politician or lord.

Kayono could find happiness in anyone that would laugh whenever she wanted them to laugh but would not have input of their own.

"_What would make Ginkiri happy?"_

Art, poetry, music, carefree afternoons that were never rushed… These were all things that brought a smile to his daughters face. These were all things that weren't usually found within the land of iron, these were all things that she wouldn't have time for in the house of a lord… but these were all things that she might find in the village hidden in the clouds.

"_Village hidden in the clouds," _Mifune thought in bemusement. Even the name suited his daughter well.

* * *

><p>Grey and white, grey and white-<p>

-Grey stone walls, white snow.

- Grey suits of armor with splashes of red that were reminiscent of blood.

A _really_ hated the land of iron. Everything was so cold and lifeless. He was all for being militaristic but this was ridiculous.

"Follow me," one of the chunks of armor that A assumed _had_ to have someone in it said.

Once A, C and Darui had reached the border to the land of iron they had been joined quickly by four samurai, who had escorted them the remainder of the way. Those four broke away when they reached the gates of the city and a single samurai had taken their place, leading them through the dismal streets.

Even through the heavy snow clouds that blanketed the sky A could tell that the sun was still up, so it wasn't quite evening yet but even so, everything was eerily quiet. There were a few people out and about but no one said anything.

"If Mifune's kids are anything like _this_ place I can't see Bee being very happy with them," Darui whispered to C, who nodded.

A glanced back at the two but didn't say anything. Darui was right, if these girls reflected their home in any way this marriage was doomed.

"They're colorful in their own ways," the samurai leading them said.

"Oh they do talk," C snorted.

The samurai stopped and turned to look at the three and then reached up to remove his mask, revealing a fair-skinned face with a cross shaped scar over his right eye.

"Of course we talk," he stated with a bit of amusement.

"I think he meant that you all seem very stoic," said A while shooting a glare at C.

"Do _you_ usually engage in light conversation with potentially dangerous _visitors_?" the samurai asked.

"No," A chuckled. "I am flattered that you would consider us a threat though."

The samurai nodded and then turned away and continued walking.

"What's your name?" A asked, deciding that if this man knew anything about Mifune's daughters it would be wise to see if he could get any other information about them.

"Okisuke," the samurai replied.

"So you know Mifune's daughters?"

"Somewhat, what would you like to know?" asked Okisuke, catching onto A's game.

"What can you tell me?"

"Hm, well there are four total, Suboshi, Momoka, Kayono and Ginkiri. I've never really spoken with Momoka but I used to train with Suboshi and Kayono. Suboshi is a rather hardened woman but she's very skilled. Kayono…"

A smirked, even from the angle he was looking at Okisuke he could make out a faint red tinge spreading across his cheeks.

"She's a bit loud but she's funny and good-natured. Ginkiri is usually around Mifune-sama so I've talked with her quite a bit, she's a very sweet girl but she's sort of weird…she's quite cheerful."

A nodded, it wasn't a very in-depth description but they didn't sound too bad.

* * *

><p>"Raikage-sama," Mifune greeted with a small bow as A and his two bodyguards were ushered into his personal office.<p>

"Mifune," A acknowledged, although his eyes were on the small young woman at Mifune's side. It was hard _not_ to notice her; she was wearing a kimono that was the brightest blue he had ever seen on cloth form.

"My daughter," Mifune said as he motioned to her. "Ginkiri."

A smiled, a wave of relief washing over him. He had been expecting even more grey but she looked downright bubbly. She was a tiny little thing, to A at least, with long thick black hair that reached past her lower back, bright honey colored eyes and high set chubby cheeks. She looked a bit too young for Bee but if her sisters were anything like her he knew Bee would be happy.

"Ginkiri," A greeted and held out his fist.

Ginkiri glanced to her father then back at A, unsure of what exactly he was expecting. Yana had never covered this sort of behavior and she was as at complete loss as to what to do. In a bit of panic she did the only thing she could think of, she reached out, awkwardly placing her hand on his fist in an attempt to shake it.

A, though he tried not to, laughed.

"Forgive me Raikage-sama I am unfamiliar with this custom," Ginkiri said quickly as she bowed her head.

"No worries," A chuckled.

"You're excused Kiri," said Mifune, seeing his daughters obvious distress with the whole situation.

"It-was-very-nice-meeting-you," Ginkiri said in one breath before scurrying out of the office.

"I would like to begin as soon as possible," Mifune said once the door clicked shut. "Would you like them present?"

A sighed, formalities aside Mifune obviously wasn't the type to waste any time. He glanced back at C and Darui and gave them a slight nod of his head, indicating that he wanted them to wait outside. Darui stepped towards the door but C lingered, not really comfortable with leaving A alone. A gave him a hard look and C sighed, following his teammate out the door.

"You may sit down," said Mifune as he set out four folders on the narrow desk, waiting until A seated himself before doing the same.

"I comprised all the information you might need on each of my daughters within each folder. It consists of accomplishments, disciplinary action, and all medical history."

A nodded and pulled each of the folders from the desk and set them on his lap, skimming though each one as Mifune continued to talk.

"For the sake of military security I will not require the same information on Killer Bee, though I do request that you disclose any diseases that could be considered hereditary."

"None that I know of," A mumbled as he looked through each profile. The three older girls looked very much like Mifune, with little variations. They each had dark grey hair and black eyes. Suboshi had the most impressive folder, A assumed by shinobi standards she could be considered a jonin. There were pages and pages of accomplishments and the only disciplinary actions taken against her were a result of her being too aggressive during training.

"_But she looks so damn mean,"_ A inwardly winced as he looked back to the front page where her picture was located.

Momoka's folder was filled with civil accomplishments and absolutely no disciplinary actions.

"_No," _A thought as he tucked her folder behind the others. She sounded as dull as she looked.

Kayono's folder was littered with disciplinary actions but she did have a number of accomplishment, though not as many as Suboshi.

"_Maybe." _

Lastly he came to Ginkiri, the girl he had just met. There was very little in her folder actually. Basic information, medical history, but no accomplishments.

"I think I'm missing a few pages on this one," said A as he held up her folder.

"Everything is there," Mifune assured him.

"But…"

"Ginkiri was never trained in the same way Kayono and Suboshi were and she doesn't really have a taste for politics like Momoka," Mifune explained. "Her accomplishments aren't necessarily suitable for a profile such as these."

"Well what are they?" Asked A as he looked over her information again. She was twenty-two, older than he had initially thought but still rather young.

"_Eight years," _A mused. _"That's not too bad I guess and she certainly looks warmer than the other three." _

"She's mastered the shamisen, she paints, she writes poetry, she's more adapted to domesticated skills than the other girl," Mifune said tightly. This interest in her was the exact opposite of what he wanted; he had been hoping that A would take more of a liking to one of the other three thus giving him an excuse not to choose Ginkiri.

A lingered a little longer on her folder and then closed it. It was difficult to make any sort of judgments simply based on pieces of paper.

"Which daughter were you considering?" he asked.

Mifune sucked in a slow steady breath. "I will refrain from making my own judgment known until I hear your opinion."

"Will I be able to meet them?"

"Tomorrow I will arrange for you to meet them as a group and then individually," Mifune nodded.

A watched as he pulled out yet another folder and placed it on the desk. "Forgive my intrusions but I did research of my own on Killer Bee, I ask that you look through it and point out any false or overly embellished information."

A picked up the folder and nodded. He really couldn't blame Mifune for looking into information on Bee, it was only natural that he would want to know more about a man that could potentially be his son-in-law.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Suboshi:<strong>_

"Do you…have any hobbies?" A asked to the sour looking woman standing across from him. The group introduction had already taken place that morning and now it was time for individual interviews with the girls. First on the list was Suboshi. Getting information out of the woman was like pulling teeth.

"No," Suboshi said coldly, the same look she had when he had met her still plastered on her face.

"Do you enjoy _any_ activities?"

"No."

"Would you like to uh, sit down?" A offered, he was rarely intimidated but this woman was doing a damn good job at it. He had hoped that she would have had more of a personality than her profile let on but no…which was really disappointing because her physical prowess was indeed impressive but he knew that Bee would never speak to him again if he married him off to a woman with the personality of a rock.

"No."

"Okay, well what can you tell me about yourself?"

Suboshi gave a pointed look to the stack of folders he was holding but didn't say anything.

"Right…"

"May I be excused now, I have guard duty in three hours," Suboshi drawled.

"Uh, sure."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Momoka: <strong>_

A tried keeping up with the conversation Momoka was more or less carrying on with herself but he really had no idea what she was talking about. He had asked her about her hobbies and somehow that had turned into a mess of political jargon. She was quite smart by the sounds of it but he knew if _he_ couldn't understand her there was no way in hell Bee would.

"He really believed that he was ubiquitous but I could see right through his little ploy," she gushed. "There was no possible way that he could know as much as he let on."

A cringed and nodded.

"_No," _he thought as he gave up trying to follow her. _"She'd break his brain."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kayono:<strong>_

"This one was a complete misunderstanding," Kayono laughed as she waved her folder around animatedly.

A had made the mistake of letting her see the folder. The woman had been quick to start defending each and every incident listed under disciplinary actions.

"This one here," she said as she presented A with the folder for little more than a second, certainly not long enough to actually read what she was trying to show him. "Was not my fault, that boy made my life hell during training and he disserved what he got!"

"I'm sure he did," A said slowly. He wasn't sure he wanted to see what would happen if he got Bee and Kayono in the same room, he assumed there was would a lot of yelling involved. He had no doubt that they would get along just fine but he really didn't think his ears could handle it.

It didn't matter what he wanted though, he told himself. He needed to keep Bee in mind, if anything he supposed he could just buy earplugs.

"_She's still a maybe." _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ginkiri:<strong>_

This little meeting was different from the other three, the other girls had been brought to him but this time he had been brought to a different room where Ginkiri awaited him. Apparently she had felt the need to serve him tea. A wasn't one for such formalities as tea ceremonies but judging by the look on Ginkiri's face this was something that she enjoyed immensely. Her movements were relaxed but concise as she made her preparations; as if this was something she had done a thousand times before.

"Thank you," she said softly as she set a bowl of tea before A.

"Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?" A chuckled.

Ginkiri gave a closed mouth giggle and smiled. "I mean thank you for joining me for tea. It relaxes me."

"You're welcome…These are very pretty," said A, motioning to the tea-set currently being used.

"Thank you, I collect them. Father says they're pointless but he always brings me a new set when he comes back from long journeys."

"Do you have any other collections?" asked A, his voice taking on an almost whispered tone. Ginkiri had a very soft lilting voice and apparently it was contagious. He coughed awkwardly as if something had been caught in his throat, trying to hide the fact that he had essentially been mimicking her.

"Oh, not really, when I was younger I collected Band-Aids but that tended to gross people out so I stopped."

"_Gross people out?" _A wondered. _"Meaning they were used?"_

He was _not_ going to ask so instead he decided on a different subject. "So you enjoy tea-ceremonies, what else do you enjoy doing?"

"I like embroidering, baking, painting, writing, doing puzzles…"

Ginkiri paused, taking a deep breath before continuing her little list. "Reading, taking walks if the weather is nice, stargazing…again if the weather is nice."

"That's quite a few hobbies," A chuckled.

"Keeps me busy," Ginkiri chimed.

"Your father mentioned that you also play the shamisen."

Ginkiri winced and nodded. "I do but it hurts my fingers so I only play when asked."

A glanced down to her hands. They were very delicate looking, it was no wonder that the strings of the shamisen would hurt her fingers. He was so accustomed to seeing the weathered hands of kunouchi that it was so alien to see hands such as hers.

It was her frailty and whispered voice that made him doubt her compatibility with Bee. She was a better option than the other three but he wasn't going to agree to something simply because of the lack of options.

"What…what is Killer Bee-sama like?" Ginkiri asked hesitantly. She hadn't misses the saddened look her father had been giving her earlier in the day and somehow she _knew_. As it stood now, her father was going to choose her. She wasn't fearful, she trusted her father's judgment but she _was_ curious.

A arched a brow, the other women hadn't asked about Bee even once. "Bee can take a little getting used to."

Ginkiri frowned, people often said that Suboshi took a little getting used to; did that mean that Bee was the same type of person?

"Is he an angry sort of person then?"

"No, not at all," A laughed softly. "He's nice but he's very…_unique_. Sometimes he's a little dense and he doesn't think before he acts or says things but he means well."

"Oh that's good," Ginkiri sighed in relief. "And what of Kumogakure? I've not heard much about it."

"It's certainly a lot warmer than it is here," A smiled, unsure of how to describe his own village.

"Is it true that the buildings are built into the sides of mountains?" Ginkiri asked eagerly.

"Indeed they are."

"Well then how do you get around?"

"The same as any other village but our _streets_ are more like passageways through the mountains."

"I bet you have a lot of great views," she said wistfully.

"Yes we do."

A smiled, instead of interviewing her he found himself being interviewed.

"I think I would like it there," she said more to herself than to A.

"Oh? Do you know something I don't then?" asked A. Either she was overly confident or her father had already confided in her.

"I'm sorry," Ginkiri blushed. "…Yes and no…I… I just know my father very well. I must have seemed presumptions, forgive me."

A regarded her carefully. The other three women offered more but Ginkiri was far more personable and at the very least he could see Bee being friends with her. If Bee was going to be tied down to someone A supposed it was best that it was someone that wouldn't drive him insane or bore him to tears.

* * *

><p>A gave Mifune a steady look as he placed a single folder onto the desk that separated them. Mifune glanced down at it and reached across to tip the cover open just enough to see the face of his youngest daughter.<p>

"It appears we are in agreement then," Mifune said, fighting off the quiver that threatened to betray his feelings. "I will admit that this decision is made with a heavy heart, Ginkiri is very precious to me."

"What now?"

"In two months' time I will bring Ginkiri to Kumogakure. Until then you may bring this back to Killer Bee," said Mifune, motioning to the folder. "I will send details concerning the wedding within the next month."

"And when would that be?"

"The wedding?"

"…Yes."

"In two months," Mifune said impatiently. He had _just_ said that.

"Wait wait, shouldn't they _meet_ each other first?"

"Unnecessary."

"And if they end up hating each other."

Mifune was beginning to get flustered, if one agreed to an arranged marriage the least they could do is learn what was customary beforehand.

"The marriage itself is for public show," he explained somewhat calmly. "After that they will have two weeks to…consummate the union. If such an act does not take place, for whatever reason, then the marriage will be considered annulled."

"Consummate…ah, would that be confirmed verbally or…" A trailed off. The land of iron was stuck in old traditions but he had trouble believing that Mifune would exercise such an archaic practice of virginal confirmation.

"By a trained and trusted medic," Mifune snapped.

"You have to be kidding me."

"No, from a legal standpoint it is necessary."

"How so?"

"When the marriage is consummated I will sign all legal rights to my daughter over to Killer Bee, if by chance the consummation is a ruse and the marriage annulled it will not automatically give me those rights back, so in a sense nothing would be able to stop him or you from marrying her to someone else."

A shook his head, he didn't understand the logic behind all of that but he didn't know how to argue it.

"I should also mention," said Mifune, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. "That marital rape is not acceptable in the land of iron and is punishable by death, I expect Bee to be held to these same standards."

"Bee would never do something like that," A snarled.

* * *

><p>AN: Fact and fiction ^_^ I tried to blend the two regarding laws and tradition surrounding real arranged marriage.<p> 


	3. Chapter 2: Preparations

**_Chapter 2: Preparations_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>"If you want something said, ask a man...if you want something done, ask a woman."<em>**

* * *

><p>"What's this?" Bee asked as A extended a dull green folder out for him to take.<p>

A had arrived back that morning after a four day trip to the land of Iron and had immediately called for Bee. There was to use wasting any time, Bee had a little less than two months to fully commit himself to this agreement.

"This is Ginkiri," said A. "The daughter chosen by both Mifune and myself."

Bee was a little scared to open the folder, afraid of what he might see. So many possibilities ran through his head. What if she was deformed? What if she was a total bitch? What if she was like the countless others that viewed him as a monster?

"Just to give you an idea of why _she_ was chosen," said A as he dropped three other folders onto his desk. "You can look through these as well if you want."

Bee looked at the folder currently in his grasp and then to the other three.

"What's she like?" Bee asked, still not sure if he wanted to take a look for himself.

"She's an itty-bitty little thing," A chuckled. "She's very sweet, soft-spoken, she's not a samurai though."

Bee wasn't sure what he should say to that. Is she wasn't a samurai and she certainly couldn't be a shinobi, that meant that she was essentially a civilian. If she was a civilian that meant that her only purpose for being there was solely to be his wife.

"Here," A said as he pulled an opened envelope from his robes. "This is from her nursemaid; it's a little more detailed than what her father sent."

"You opened it?" Bee snorted as he took the large envelope and noticed the way it had been cut open.

"Had to make sure it wasn't a death-threat or something," A chuckled. "She didn't seem all too happy to learn that Ginkiri had been chosen."

"Oh?" Bee mumbled as he pulled out the contents of the envelope. There was a note that consisted of several pages, and two photographs. The first photo was of four young women standing side by side. Bee flipped the photo over and noticed the date written on the back, it had only been taken a few months ago. He moved to the second photo, which was of one of the women from the previous photo, he assumed it had to be Ginkiri. She was tucked up closely to Mifune in a sideways hug, her cheek smushed up against his side.

Bee smiled a little, she didn't seem too bad. "She reminds be a bit of a bunny, or a chipmunk with those cheeks," he laughed.

"_**She's pretty," **_said Hachibi, deciding it was a good time to add his two cents.

"_You're not the one that has to marry her," _Bee countered. In his opinion Ginkiri was cute but he wouldn't classify her as pretty. His taste usually leaned more towards the unique and mature; normally girls like Ginkiri wouldn't catch his eye.

"_**In a sense I am,"**_ Hachibi countered.

"_I'll argue that point with you later."_

"When do I get to meet her?" asked Bee.

A cleared this throat, which suddenly felt very dry and looked away from Bee. "Uh, two months?"

Bee nodded, two months was longer than he had expected but he supposed that was a good thing. It meant that he would have more time before the actual wedding right?

"And then what? A few months after that we'll have the wedding?" he asked.

"Not quite," A said slowly. "When you meet her…You see…You'll be meeting her _at_ the altar."

Bee's entire body went completely still and then very slowly his head tilted to one side as he reached up and pulled his glasses from his face. "…say what?"

"Mifune doesn't believe it's necessary for the two of you to meet prior to the wedding."

"Why?"

A cringed, it was rare for Bee to ever take off his glasses, he even admitted to showering with them. What was even rarer was to hear Bee talk with such an even and sharp tone.

"Tradition."

"Tradition," Bee repeated. "Well what happens to tradition if we hate each other? I'm sure he could care less about what I think but what about his daughter, I'm sure he doesn't want her married to someone she can't stand."

"I asked that same question," A said calmly. He wanted to tell Bee that he agreed with him but at the moment he needed to act as a moderator for both sides. "The actual marriage ceremony is just for show, after that the two of you will have two weeks to decide if you want to eh…consummate the marriage. If you choose not to…do that, then the marriage will be annulled."

"Consummate, you mean I have to _sleep_ with her to make it official? What kind of punk-ass tradition is that?"

"Samurai tradition apparently."

"Okay," Bee said, rubbing his temples to ward off the headache that he knew was coming. "Say we don't hate each other and are willing to just go with it, can I just _say_ I slept with her."

"A medic will…"

"What kind of motha-fucka is this cat!" Bee roared, cutting A off. He didn't need to hear the rest of the sentence to know the answer was no. The stupid stipulation didn't affect him too greatly but it would no doubt be mortifying for whoever this girl was.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in the land of Iron, Suboshi was having a very un-Suboshi-like breakdown.<p>

"Oh Momo!" Suboshi sobbed as she clung to her younger sister's kimono desperately.

"Ew," Momoka grimaced as she noticed the amount of snot her sister seemed to be producing.

"I…I purposely sabotaged m-my meeting with the Raikage a-and now look what happened! Oh Kami she's just a baby!"

"Kiri is _not_ a _baby_," Momoka sighed. "You're being ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous!" Suboshi yelled hysterically as she gripped Momoka's arms and pulled here close so that they were eye to eye and nose to nose. "Do you know what they're _talking_ about it there!"

"Sex, their talking about sex," Momoka said bluntly as she attempted to pry Suboshi's fingers off of her. She was stretching the silk out.

"She's too _young_ for that!" Suboshi wailed as a fresh set of tears sprang forth.

"It's ruined, that's all there is too it," Momoka mumbled as she surveyed the damage done to her kimono, completely ignoring the fact that her sister had collapsed at her feet.

"Oh give me a break," Kayono muttered. She had been watching the show since it started but enough was enough. "Kiri is the lucky one; she can go have a little fun without someone guarding her _virtue_ every waking minute."

"Yes but now she'll have a big sweaty man interested in her _virtue_," Momoka pointed out.

"And?" Kayono asked slowly.

"That's the part Boshi is having issues with."

"I doesn't matter what Suboshi has issues with, Ginkiri seemed to be taking it just fine," said Kayono.

"You can't say that for sure, father has been keeping her hoarded to himself since the Raikage left. She could be an absolute wreck for all we know and just hiding it," Momoka replied, rolling her eyes when Suboshi gave a particularly long and whined wail.

Kayono shrugged, she wasn't exactly happy to see her youngest and most naïve sister being married off first but she wasn't going to sit of the floor and bawl like a baby like Suboshi. She knew that if their father thought for even a moment that Ginkiri was distraught by the arrangement he would find a way out. "Hey you know more about this stuff than we do," said Kayono. "Are we going to be allowed to go with her, so we can at least be there for the ceremony?"

"I don't think so but that's purely from a strategic standpoint," said Suboshi, stopping suddenly in mid-sob.

"Ah, you finally finished?" Kayono snorted. "And what do you mean?"

"Father and Ginkiri alone will be dangerous enough," Suboshi explained, wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve. "A lot of people are going to know when and where they will be traveling, including potential enemies. Travel is also going to be rather slow because they have to lug all of Ginkiri's crap up there."

"Her precious tea-sets?" Kayono snorted.

"Among other things," Momoka said. "I know father plans on giving her mother's tansu."

* * *

><p>"About time," Hachi muttered under her breath as she closed the door once more. She had been on her way out to tell Suboshi to shut up when she had finally stopped that god-awful crying of hers.<p>

"Y-you can't actually bend like that can you?" Ginkiri mumbled as she stared wide-eyed at the print held lightly between her thin fingers.

"This," Hachi snapped as she pulled the print away from Ginkiri to see what she was talking about. "Is why I suggested a proper anatomy book…and no Kiri one cannot bend like that without serious bodily injury."

Yana glared at Hachi as she placed yet another print before Ginkiri. "Everything is _enhanced_ for better understanding and concept, and these are far more tasteful and informative than anything else we could have shown her."

"This is not tasteful or informative," Hachi seethed as she held up the print of a woman who was folded similar to a pretzel and being penetrated by a man with a two foot penis. "These are ancient and ridiculous. The purpose of this is to educate her not scare her."

"Enhanced," Ginkiri repeated, going back to Yana's previous statement. "So they aren't _that_ big right?"

"No," Yana and Hachi said in unison.

"Oh thank goodness," Ginkiri breathed in relief. When she had been younger she had been given a rather vague talk about sex but now she was being bombarded with yet another talk as well as images that she was sure would give her nightmares. She had understood the basic principles of sex and really would have preferred to leave it at that.

Before she had been whisked away by the two older women she had been talking to Momoka about wedding preparations, she rather hoped that this talk would end soon so she could go back to doing just that. Two months seems like a long time but it really wasn't long enough at all. She would need to be fitted for several kimonos, she needed to arrange and pack her belongings, and most importantly she needed to find out who she should be contacting in Kumogakure to arrange everything else she would need to arrange. She had always imagined that weddings were quite difficult to orchestrate but even more so when it was in a completely different land.

When it had been officially confirmed that she had been chosen to marry Killer Bee the prospect had frightened her but she had quickly pushed Bee out of the equation and focused more on the wedding itself and the idea of gaining more freedom. The tactic worked to sooth her nerves but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that it was going to do more harm than good when she was forced to face the man whose existence she was ignoring.

"_Not going to think about that,"_ she told herself.

"I'm not going to let you continue showing her this…this _porn_!" Hachi bellowed, breaking Ginkiri from her thoughts.

"It is not _porn_," Yana bristled.

"Ginkiri, go wait outside while I have a word with Yana," Hachi commanded.

"Alright," Ginkiri smiled, glad to have a chance to get out of there. She gave one final weary look at the stack of prints and then quickly made her exit.

* * *

><p>"Do you think they're lying about her age?" Yugito asked as she looked at the picture of Ginkiri and then back at her profile. Ginkiri was only a year younger than Yugito but she looked like she was still in her teens.<p>

"I don't see why they would," Bee shrugged, settling back into his seat. On his way out of A's office he had run into Yugito and she had promptly decided that they needed to go to lunch. Luckily is was almost three in the afternoon so currently they were the only two sitting in the small restraint Yugito had decided on.

After news about his arranged marriage had gotten out, public interest in him had once again peaked. He hated being the center of attention, at least _that_ kind of attention. He was widely viewed as a village hero these days so people generally had enough respect not to stare at him anymore but it was steadily staring up again. Even if they weren't the same kinds of looks they still drudged up bothersome memories.

"She just looks really young," Yugito shrugged.

"She better not be any younger," Bee cringed. He wasn't going to mention the whole consummation thing; the less people knew about that the better.

"It's probably just a major case of baby face," said Yugito, figuring it was better not to stress him about more than he already was.

"Major case of baby face," Bee laughed. "That's good, real good."

He pulled his book from his pocket and began writing.

Yugito shook her head and smiled, she hadn't intended for it to rhyme. "Guess you're rubbing off on me."

"Has to be my magnetic personality," Bee grinned.

"Or your idiotic redundancy."

"Hey!"

Yugito smirked and looked back down at the photo. "Hey well at least some of the rumors I've been hearing aren't true."

"Rumors?" asked Bee, sitting up a little in his chair.

"Mhmm," Yugito hummed. "I've overheard several and I'm sure they're just the tip of the iceberg."

"Like what exactly?"

"Oh this and that, the biggest one is that A was somehow blackmailed into marrying you off but there are a few more petty ones. Such as your bride to be having so many scars that she's almost unrecognizable as a woman, or that she's covered head to toe in warts, I also heard that she is some sort of viscous samurai that kills children as indiscriminately as she does men…Oh I also heard that her name was Blagoslovitola, or something like that."

"Blaga-what? Why the hell would people say something like that?"

"You may have not realized it but you're a hot commodity among women, if anything just for your status. Many of them aren't very happy that you're being taken off the market permanently."

Bee grinned and Yugito rolled her eyes. "I really hope this girl can handle herself, she's pretty much walking into a shark-tank."

"I doubt anyone would actually say something to her. None of the women I've dated have run into that problem."

"…Or maybe they just didn't tell you. Women are much more discreet but we do engage in pissing matches just as much as men do."

"Including you?" Bee laughed.

"No," Yugito shook her head. "But then again I don't date very much."

"Hn."

"Speaking of dating, what happened between you and Isawa?"

Bee looked away and frowned. "Still together…I mean…there's no point breaking it off just yet."

"You'll have to eventually, you know that right?"

"Yeah I know."

"Unless you plan on keeping her as a mistress."

Bee looked back to Yugito, as if contemplating it.

"I know you Bee," Yugito sighed. "You'd never be able to do that so don't even consider it. It wouldn't be fair to Isawa, most women want to get married not spend their life being the _other woman_."

"Yeah you're right."

"I would cut it off as soon as possible. How long do you have until the wedding?" Yugito asked as she lifted her glass of water to her lips.

"Two months," Bee mumbled.

Yugito sputtered into her glass, choking on the water that she had been trying to drink.

"T-two months?" she coughed. "How long until she comes here to meet you or er… are you going there or…two months?"

"She's not coming here and I'm not going there, we aren't going to actually meet until the wedding ceremony," Bee groaned

Yugito's face went very straight. "If you really plan on going through with this then you need to go talk to Isawa as soon as possible. Actually, once we're done here you should head straight over there."

"I was planning on to; I'll have to drop by my place first though. I really don't want to take these with me," he replied miserably, pointing to the folder, envelope and photo.

"I'll take them," Yugito stated rather than offered. "Knowing you, you'll end up getting sidetracked and it'll never get done."

* * *

><p>"Now," Momoa beamed as she seated herself across from Ginkiri, a brand new planner in hand. "We have two month, less than two months actually, to get everything in order."<p>

Sabushi and Kayono shared a special bond due to training with each other so much and Momoka and Ginkiri shared a bond due to their more refined natures. Momoka was saddened to know what her sister would be leaving them but she greatly looked forward to planning everything, this was something that was quite good at.

"Tomorrow we will go look at fabrics and stationary," Momka continued. "Traditionally wedding ceremonies are prominently white _but_ we can bring in a bit of color through flowers. Did you have any certain flowers in mind?"

"I had been thinking of lily of the valley arrangements," Ginkiri said softly. "But I don't think that would bring much color and they're so delicate, I don't think they would travel very well. Perhaps gerbera daisies?"

"This isn't some sort of test Kiri," Momoka smiled gently. "There is no wrong answer, though I do agree with you about the lily of the valley idea, they would also be rather difficult to find this time of the year so we would have to order them from a greenhouse and I doubt they would make the journey. As an alternative we may be able to order calla lilies, they're a bit sturdier."

"I like calla lilies," Ginkiri smiled. "And we could add hydrangeas for a bit of color."

"Blue?"

"Yellow."

Both women smiled and then giggled; completely unaware of the far more difficult time their father was having concerning the wedding.

Mifune stared down at the scroll lying on his desk and sighed, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Now that Ginkiri's engagement was public he was beginning to receive an influx of letters. None of them were congratulatory in nature like he had been expecting though, all of them either expressed interest in his other daughters or expressed concern regarding the land of iron's status with the Kumogakure. You would think that prolonged peace would bring serenity but no, it bred suspicion and paranoia. One letter he had received had outright accused him of forging a military alliance with Kumo with aspirations of starting up another great war. Granted the accusation did have some merit, this was an alliance of sorts but it was more for economic stability than military power.

Mifune glanced back to that particular scroll and groaned.

"The tsuchikage is a very paranoid man," he grumbled to himself.

* * *

><p>AN: We're moving right along XD originally I had planned on picking this story up during the wedding but here we are…three chapters in…and they still haven't met yet but I think it works better this way.<p>

Just a bit of random information. The "prints" Ginkiri was being shown are Shunga prints which traditionally would have been given to a bride and groom with the brides dowry but I decided to switch it up a bit and have a little fun :P I only suggest you look up Shunga if you desire to be incredibly disturbed and amused, they are rather odd and quite graphic.

FreddyJason27 and 00909, Thank you for your reviews ^_^ I always like to know that at least someone enjoys what I write.


	4. Chapter 3: Letting go

**_Chapter 3: Letting go and deranged squirrels._**

* * *

><p><em>Mama told me what I should know,<em>

_Too much candy gonna rot your soul,_

_If she loves you, let her go,_

_'Cause love only gets you down._

* * *

><p>Just five more minutes, five more minutes and then he would get up, Killer Bee told himself. He hadn't been sleeping well for the last two weeks. The only time he did sleep well was when he was curled around the woman currently in his arms. Isawa, two weeks ago he had told Yugito that he was going to break it off with her and had indeed gone straight over to do just that after their lunch but things did go as planned. He had tried, or as least he told himself that he had but ended up in her bed that night. It was becoming a reoccurring theme; he would go over to talk to her but never ended up talking about what he was supposed to be talking about.<p>

"_**You were never this attached to her before the engagement," **_said Hachibi, growing tired of Bee's delusions.

"_That's not true,"_ Bee replied even though he knew it _was_ true.

"_**That's a lie and you know it. I think this is more about not wanting to be tied down than it is about Isawa." **_

"_Waddaya mean?" _

"_**I think you're using her to satisfy your own rebellion against this marriage."**_

"_I am not." _

Bee scowled into the darkness of Isawa's bedroom and as carefully as he could, he pulled himself up from the bed. Quickly he found his clothes and began pulling then on, all the while ignoring Hachibi. The damn octopus was right, Bee knew this but he didn't want to admit it.

He did care for Isawa, he really did but he had never intended on settling down with her or anything like that. Part of him had really started to believe that he would have and that was a problem because he knew it wasn't true, it was just something to tell himself. It was a reason to feel loss.

Bee grabbed his scarf from the floor and began looping it around his neck as he walked down the hall on his way to the door of Isawa's apartment.

"Already leaving?" Isawa called out softly from behind Bee. She had watched him get dressed and had almost remained silent but couldn't. The last few nights he had stayed with her until late morning, yesterday they had even had breakfast together. It felt like she was beginning to win the battle but this time as she watched him go there was something different.

Bee turned to look at her; she was standing in the doorway to her room, wrapped up in her sheet. "Didn't mean to wake you," he said softly. "Go back to sleep."

"Bee," Isawa called out almost a little desperately when he turned to leave again, it was almost impossible to disguise the tremor on her voice. "…stay."

Bee told himself that he wasn't going to turn back around so he continued forward but what she said next stopped him dead in his tracks and made his heart sink.

"Bee, I love you," she croaked.

Isawa had loved him for a while, though she couldn't quite determine how long, but she had yet to actually get the courage to tell him. She knew Bee didn't like to be tied down; he had so much responsibility as it was, so it had been difficult to confess her feelings. She couldn't let him walk away this time without telling him, because this time she had the feeling that he wouldn't be coming back and if he did it would be to tell her things she didn't want to hear.

Bee shook his head, still refusing to look at her. He cared for her, no doubt about it but he knew he didn't love her. Pulling her along for his own purposed was only going to hurt her more.

"I'm sorry," he said simply and with that, he walked away. It wasn't how he wanted to end things, there were a number of things that he wanted to tell her but he knew that if she started crying he would never be able to say any of them.

* * *

><p>Mornings, in any land or village, were always cold but in the land of iron they were <em>particularly<em> cold. This little fact wasn't going to deter Ginkiri though; she knew that if she wasn't up and out of her room before the sun was even up she was going to face another brutal day with Suboshi. With that thought in mind she hopped up into her windowsill and then stepped down onto the slick snow covered roof right outside her window. There weren't many places she could hide from her sister but she did know of one. The trouble was in getting there.

Slowly at first she allowed herself to begin sliding down the steep incline of the roof. She wasn't going to worry about tracks; she knew that by the time her sister came to her room they would be covered by wind and fresh snow. The area she was trying to get to was almost a straight shot from her bedroom with a few drops along the way. Even though she wasn't as stealthy or skilled as Suboshi or Kayono she was still rather good at getting around on the roof. Living under the constant watchful eye of her father meant finding creative ways of getting around.

Ginkiri groaned when she reached the edge of the roof, she would need to get down to the lower level but the area was tricky. During the day the sun hit that particular part of the roof perfectly and would usually melt some of the snow which would freeze during the night and get covered again by new snow. So she was never sure about what awaited her. A bit of ice could mean poor footing and a nice little trip off the roof. It had happened once before and as a result she had broken her leg, something she didn't want to expectance again.

"Okay," she said with determination as she lowered herself down and over the edge of the roof.

* * *

><p>"Sir!" a young samurai by the name Hitori sputtered, pointing to the tallest tower within the general's compound.<p>

"I know," Okisuke nodded. "I've been watching her; as long as she doesn't slip she'll be fine."

Hitori was fairly new to guard duty but to most guards the sight of Mifune's youngest daughter hanging from parts of the roof was common. Actually seeing her scour the rooftops like some deranged squirrel offered a welcome reprieve from seeing snow, more snow and the occasional bird.

"What do you think is going through her head right now?" another Samurai asked, his head tilting to one side.

"Who knows," Okisuke chuckled.

Ginkiri was hanging from one level of the roof and appeared to be trying to stretch her body out long enough to touch the level below. What she was trying to do was quite obviously impossible; she would have to miraculously stretch at least two feet for her to bridge the distance.

"The eight-tails is going to have his hands full," the previous samurai laughed, watching as Ginkiri finally decided to let go and drop down to the level below her. "Someone should send a message to the Raikage and tell him to put bars on the windows."

"Unless he locks her up like Mifune I don't think he'll have anything to worry about," replied Okisuke.

"U-uh sir!" Hitori squeaked, again pointing to tower.

Okisuke rolled his eyes and looked to where Hitori was pointing but this time Ginkiri was nowhere in sight. "What happened?" Okisuke demanded. He had only looked away for a second. It didn't look like she had slipped; the snow further down the roof was still undisturbed.

"S-she just…I-I think she fell through!"

* * *

><p>Mifune drummed his fingers against his desk irritably. On any given day he would question the sanity of at least one of his daughters once. It was usually Suboshi or Kayono but today it was Ginkiri. His daughter was standing across from his desk with her head drooped solemnly as she waited for her father to say something. Her clothes were still covered in dust and bits and pieces of wood and plaster clung to her hair.<p>

Ginkiri had indeed fallen through the roof _and_ the ceiling and had landed quite impressively in one of the maid's quarters, which almost scared the poor woman to death. Through all the debris the maid hadn't been able to tell who had fallen into her room so naturally she assumed they were under attack. The entire building had been alerted by her screams as she ran wildly down the hall and it hadn't taken long before ten or so samurai were on the scene. Mifune considered himself lucky that they had taken the time to see who exactly was _invading_ them before they attacked.

His daughter had walked away practically unscathed, she had a few small cuts, scrapes and bruises but nothing too serious. Now it was up to Mifune to decide on her punishment. He just wasn't sure what he _could_ do though. The last time she had gotten in trouble was when she was still in her early teens; actually that same incident involved her being on the roof as well. Now she was a young woman; not only a young woman but a woman that was about to be married. Even if he wanted to do something as ridiculous as ground her it still wouldn't hold much weight, she was going to be gone in a month and a half anyway.

Was it normal for women her age to go sneaking around on rooftops? Had she contracted some sort of madness as a result of this engagement? No matter how he looked at it Ginkiri just wasn't the type to go crashing through ceilings, so he was caught off guard.

"What exactly where you doing on the roof?" Mifune asked, he figured he would find out her reasons before he said anything.

"I was trying to avoid Suboshi," Ginkiri mumbled.

"Avoid…but why?"

"She keeps trying to _train_ me, which is more like her _pummeling_ me."

"So your solution was to sneak out onto the roof? Why didn't you just decline when she asks you to train with her?" Mifune sighed.

"Because I think her only reason for asking is so she can spend time with me, I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

Mifune nodded, beginning to understand. Ginkiri didn't like hurting or disappointing people, so to avoid doing so she would sometimes go to rather extreme lengths to avoid certain situations.

"Kiri," Mifune began gently as he circled around his desk to stand in front of her. "You need to learn to say _no_ or at least negotiate compromise. You can't simply run away from people to avoid conflict because there will come a day when you don't _have_ anywhere to run."

* * *

><p>"He's doing it again," Karui whispered fiercely.<p>

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he's just trying to get used to her face or something?" Samui drawled, not bothering to keep her voice down. "He _is_ going to be seeing quite a bit."

"He's depressed," Omoi pointed out.

"Obviously," Samui snorted. "Wouldn't you be?"

All three of Killer Bee's apprentices glanced towards their mentor. For the past two weeks of training any time they took a break Bee would go off separate from them, like always, pull out the picture of Ginkiri that he kept in his vest and then stare intently at it. It was like he was trying to figure her out simply by looking at it, like it would eventually come alive and tell him everything he wanted to know. It bothered the three to see Bee so quiet but it seemed to bother Karui the most.

"Mm," Omoi hummed. "I dunno if it would be all _that_ bad. It would take out all the trouble of finding a wife on your own… though on the other hand…"

"Oh shut up," Karui snapped.

"Both of you shut up," Samui sighed. "This is between Bee-sensei, A-sama, the general of the land of Iron and his daughter, it's not like we can do anything about it."

"Well there _is_ one thing we would do," said Karui before breaking off from the other two to approach Bee.

Bee upon seeing her walking closer shook his head and tucked the picture away. "You guys ready to start again?" Bee sighed.

"We could kill her for you," Karui said bluntly.

"What?" Bee asked in surprised.

"You could be in a verifiable place, then you would have an alibi and no one would ever know."

Bee shook his head, not quite sure what to say to that. He didn't think it was very normal for a twelve year old to proposition assassination. "No I don't think it's come to that quite yet."

"But…" Karui started.

"No," Bee said firmly. He had yet to actually inform his apprentices of all the details of his engagement, at first he had assumes that it would be best to only give them basic information but now he was second guessing his judgment. It was obvious that they were curious and concerned about him and he didn't want that to get in the way of training. "Samui, Omoi, c'mere."

He waited until his other two students made their way over and then took a deep breath. "Okay, I've not six weeks, no I was not forced in any way, no I'm not being paid off, no I'm not _depressed, _and if I don't like her the marriage will be called off so it's really not as bad as the three of you seem to think."

"I heard she has warts all over her face," Omoi stated.

"Oh for the love of," Bee grumbled and then pulled out the picture and handed it to Omoi. "All of you need to stop listening to the rumors."

"If you had given us all the information we wouldn't have a needed to listen to rumors," Samui replied smartly as she leaned to the side enough to look at the picture Omoi was holding.

They had already caught glimpses of said photograph as they had "casually" tried sneaking peeks over Bee's shoulder but they hadn't actually seen it in great detail.

Bee arched a brow as the face of each of his students shifted, Samui looked concerned and Omoi and Karui looked disturbed.

"Uh how old is she?" Omoi asked slowly, giving Bee a 'you're a dirty old man' look.

"Twenty-two," Bee ground out.

"Are you su…"

"Yes," Bee snapped and pulled the picture away from Omoi.

* * *

><p>"I want you to stop terrorizing your sister," Mifune said sternly. Although he had told Ginkiri to talk to Suboshi herself, he found himself still doing it <em>for<em> her.

"Speaking of _my_ sister," Suboshi with an air of defiance, completely ignoring her father's statement for the most part. "I'm going to go to Kumo with her."

"_No_, you are not," Mifune snipped.

Suboshi's eye narrowed in thought. She had hoped that if she informed him rather than asked he would have agreed, it was time to switch tactics.

"I am the eldest," she said, taking on a diplomatic tone. "As such it will fall upon me to take your place when you are too old and decrepit to continue on with your duties."

Mifune arched a brow at that but allowed her to continue.

"So I will need experience in dealing with other nations and this opportunity with give me the experience I need."

Mifune shook his head and frowned, he understood the real reasons behind wanting to go but he didn't see any way of allowing her to tag along. Hachi and Yana had already demanded to accompany Ginkiri and even he wasn't brave enough to stand in the way of those two mother hens. Momoka had taken on most of the wedding planning so for things to go smoothly she was also going. If he allowed Suboshi to go he knew Kayono would also want to go which would bring the total of non-essential persons up to five. Each of them would need two guards, which would be ten samurai, bringing the total to fifteen. With Ginkiri, himself, their guards and the samurai needed to transport Ginkiri's belongings and dowry that would mean a grand total of thirty-one or more people traveling.

Though, if he sent Ginkiri's things _before_ they left that would shave off at least ten guards. Twenty-one was still a rather large party but at least it wasn't as ridiculous as thirty.

"Fine," Mifune sighed in defeat. "But I'll need to speak to Momoka and Ginkiri, so do your old decrepit father a favor and go get them."

* * *

><p><em>A week later in Kumo. <em>

"This is a request for you Raikage," said Mabui, the kage's assistant, as she placed a scroll on his desk.

"Oh? I thought it was another letter concerning more wedding arrangements. That's why I put in on your desk," said A, pulling the scroll open and skimming through it.

"This can't be right," A mumbled. It was a request of access into Kumo for fifteen armed samurai from Iron. At first he assumed it was for the transportation of Ginkiri but they were due to arrive within four days. A wondered if Mifune had changed his mind about allowing Bee to meet Ginkiri.

"It's for Ginkiri's belongings," Mabui informed him. She had already read through the scroll, much more thoroughly than A had.

"Fifteen men just to transport her stuff?" A laughed. "Yeah, sure. Inform the gate of their arrival and set up some sort of storage area. I doubt Bee is going to have room for everything if it takes fifteen men just to get it here."

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, so this chapter is way more fragmented and shorter than I would have liked but I needed to wrap some things up before moving to the next chapter.<p>

Thanks again for the reviews!


	5. Chapter 4: Defending you against…you

_**Chapter 4: Defending you again…you**_

* * *

><p>Ginkiri felt…Actually she didn't feel anything, she was numb. The only thing even slightly getting through to her senses was the ever growing screams of her sisters. It just didn't feel like she was <em>there<em>, it was like she was somewhere far off watching herself as she floated about. She knew that today she would be walking away from her home and quite possibly would never see it again.

She had been silent as she dressed that morning, she had been silent as her father informed her of what exactly was going to be taking place and she was silent as she was helped into the carriage she would be spending the next three days sitting in. There was nothing to say, what could she say? If she expressed her fondness for her home, told it she would miss it, it wouldn't reply back, it wasn't alive… But as she watched her home drift steadily away she could help but offer a whispered goodbye.

"What are they yelling about?" Hachi groused from beside Ginkiri.

"I'm not sure," Ginkiri replied, settling back into her seat. Suboshi and Kayono rode with their father and the other samurai outside and Ginkiri, Hachi, Yana, and Momoka rode inside the carriage. They had only been traveling for about an hour and already her two sisters were at each other's throats.

"I honestly don't know what father was thinking when he agreed to let those two come along," Momoka sighed, shuffling through a stack of scrolls, papers, and envelops covering not only her lap but Yana's as well.

"What are those for?" Ginkiri asked softly, choosing to ignore the comment about Suboshi and Kayono, she was quite happy that had been allowed to come.

"Oh, this and that," Momoka shrugged. "I want to make sure we have everything in order for the wedding _before_ we get to Kumo. Hopefully Mabui-san will have everything on her end completed. That woman is seriously a god-send, I wouldn't have been able to do half of everything I needed to do without her being my hands in Kumo."

* * *

><p>"Where the hell is Bee!" A roared from behind a mountain of scrolls. "This is his damn wedding, why isn't he taking care of all this!"<p>

"You sent him away Raikage-sama," Mabuji said calmly. She knew A didn't do well under stress and as the wedding got closer and closer the stress-level rose considerably. Two days prior Bee had asked if there was anything he could do and A in a moment of heightened frustration threatened his brother with bodily harm if he didn't get out of his office and stay out.

There were two days left before the wedding and Mifune and his small garrison of samurai were due to arrive either later that night or early the next morning. They weren't the only ones coming to Kumo though.

Mabuji hid a small smile behind the stack of papers she was holding. A had quite happily signed anything and everything she had placed in front of him that concerned the wedding, including each and every update for the guest list but apparently he hadn't been paying very good attention. Kumo was steadily becoming flooded with a mass amount of people, everyone of high standing that had ties to either the land or Iron or the land of Lightning had been invited. The influx of people was going to do wonders for their economy _but_ it was doing little of A's blood pressure. Sorting out security was more or less a complete nightmare; they had to pull each and every ninja, that wasn't on a mission, onto active guard duty.

"How did this happen?" A mumbled from behind the palm currently pressed again his face.

"It's a political marriage," Mabui smile. "This is fairly common for such a big event."

"What, do they have to _confirm_ that they're actually getting married?" A snapped.

"No," Mabui laughed. "Things like this don't happen very often so it's rare for such a large group of influential people to be in one place at one time. It's a good opportunity for them to socialize, perhaps arrange marriages of their own, talk about trade or treaties…those sorts of things."

"Selfish bastards."

"What did you _think_ it was going to be like?"

"People important to Bee, people important to her," Bee shrugged. "Thirty, forty people tops. Not four-_hundred_ that's for sure."

"Five."

"Huh?"

"Five hundred," Mabui elaborated. "Not everyone that is attending has arrived yet."

Mabui shook her head as A began to rant again about Bee not taking responsibility. She wasn't going to point out that all of this had been A's doing and as such it wasn't _really_ Bee's _responsibility_.

* * *

><p>"All of her stuff is just so…so <em>dainty<em>," Yugito snorted.

Bee only nodded, not bothering to look and see what Yagito was talking about. She, in her infinite wisdom, had decided that they would clear out his spare room and bring in some of Ginkiri's belongings in order to take his mind _off_ the wedding. Bee still wasn't able to follow her logic, going through Ginkiri's stuff only made him think about the wedding more.

His once solitary work-out room was now filled with a complete strangers belonging _and_ her scent. A room _in his own living space_ was somehow foreign now. He wasn't even sure if she would be upset about having her things already set out for her. He personally didn't like people touching his stuff, he hoped she wasn't the same way because Yagito had fondled just about everything from the heaviest kimono to the tiniest hair-pin.

"Should have picked out a prettier comforter," Yugito said as she sat down on the bed beside Bee.

Bee cracked an eye open and the pulled himself upon his elbows to look at her. "Huh?"

"This one is okay but it really doesn't fit."

"Hn," Bee breathed, looking around the room. Two major pieces of furniture had been brought from the land of Iron, an antique tansu and a more modern dresser and mirror, both of which were in a dark cherry wood. Those two, in combination with the various little knickknacks and paintings that decorated the room, made for a very rich environment. The simple bed and stark white comforter he had picked up stood out like a sore thumb. "She can pick out something more suited to her tastes later, for now this will do."

"You know there's only _one_ reason why they _didn't_ send a bed right?"

"I'm not sharing a bed with a stranger. I still can't believe I was forced to buy this damn thing."

Yugito rolled her eyes and stood from the bed. "With how much you're getting from her dowry I think you can spare a couple thousand ryo… Well I think we've done all that we can here, so I'm going to head out."

"Where are you going?" Bee asked, he really didn't want to be alone.

"Thanks to this wedding we're short on guards so I'm on duty tonight and I wanted to get a shower before I have to report in."

"Ah."

"Should get some sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow," Yugito winked.

"Shut up and go," Bee grumbled then flopped back down on the bed.

"_**At least she has better taste than you,"**_ said Hachibi after Yugito had let herself out. The eight tails had remained silent while they had been setting up the room; Bee had hoped that it would stay that way.

"_I never knew you were so into home decorating," _Bee muttered back.

"_**I'm not but a person's character is reflected in the things they surround themselves with. Her things reflect grace, charm and tradition…Three things you need more of."**_

"_I have grace and I'm _very_ charming."_

"_**You bring a new meaning to the phrase 'bull in a china shop'. You're anything but graceful or charming."**_

* * *

><p>"But I'm really not tired," Ginkiri complained.<p>

"Try to sleep," Yana commanded.

"But…"

"No buts… sleep."

And with that Ginkiri was alone. They had arrived in Kumo about an hour earlier and after a brief meeting with A Ginkiri had been ushered away to one of the guest suits within the Raikage tower. It was late, Ginkiri guessed it had to be about eleven but her nerves were too on edge to even think about sleeping.

Kumo, from what little she had seen of it, was very different from Iron. She _wanted_ to go look around but she knew her father well enough to know that there were guards posted outside her door.

With no other options she began to carefully comb through her room, examining each tiny little detail. A Bed, two nightstands, a chair, a small table, her own bathroom, beige carpet flooring, a lamp, a small crack in the left corner of the ceiling…nothing really extraordinary. Upon closer inspection of the bed she found a tiny ripped seam on the lower right corner of the comforter and out of boredom decided to sew it up with the help of her travel-sized sewing kit, which killed far less time than she would have liked. With little else to do she decided to change from her heavy pink kimono into something more comfortable, her pajamas.

Just as she was beginning to believe that it might be best to take Yana's advice and _try_ sleeping she heard the familiar cackle of Suboshi.

Curiosity getting the best of her Ginkiri padded over to the door and pressed her ear to it.

"He's uh…quite interesting," she heard her laugh, though her voice was rather muffled so it was hard to hear. "I can't wait see Kiri's face."

"_Interesting?"_ Ginkiri wondered. _"Can't wait to see my face…is something __**wrong**__ with him?"_

It was Mifune's belief that it was a person's personality that made for a good match not their appearance so she knew little to nothing about what Bee looked like.

"Why?" Ginkiri peeped, cracking the door open enough to see her sister, a samurai, and a Kumo shinobi standing outside her door.

Suboshi's eyes sparked with a mischievous glint, this was her one last chance to mess with her little sister and she was going to take full advantage of the opportunity.

"Oh I don't think you _want_ to know," she said gravely, turning her head away enough to give the Kumo guard and Samurai a hard 'keep your mouth shut' look.

"…You can't _not_ tell me," Ginkiri whined, pulling the door open completely. Her pajamas were quite modest, consisting of a long-sleeved yellow shirt and a pair of long white pants, so she wasn't worried too much about being seen.

"Well if you must know," Suboshi sighed, successfully looking and sounding sympathetic. "He's even shorted than you, he's horribly pasty… like paper-white… rather pudgy…actually _really_ pudgy, he has a _giant_ nose but it's offset by his gigantic ears… he's going bald but hides it pretty well with that comb-over…"

As Suboshi continued on Ginkiri began steadily chanting in her head that appearances didn't matter.

"Why don't you go have a look," Suboshi offered, knowing well that her father was currently talking to a feudal lord that fit the description she had given perfectly. She _had_ met Bee but _he_ was already gone. "There's a sitting area down the hall and to the right, he should still be there talking to father. Just stay out of sight."

"I don't think…" the Kumo guard began, he was willing to stand by and allow a sister to tease another sister but he was under strict orders to not allow Ginkiri to roam around.

"Oh what could seriously happen?" Suboshi huffed. "It's not that far and she has the right to see the man that will be her _husband_."

"Fine but…"

"Yeah yeah, you can say I forced you okay?" Subishi snapped, cutting the guard off once more.

"_It can't be that bad,"_ Ginkiri told herself as she stepped out of her room. _"But if it is then…then I guess I should take a look…I don't want to offend him when we officially meet and if I look surprised I would surely do just that."_

As Ginkiri crept barefoot down the hall, nudged halfway along by her sister, Bee was lurking outside the Kage tower with Yugito. The two of them were crouched low on a small ledge a few levels above the small balcony of Ginkiri's room. Bee had been summoned to A's office earlier to speak with Mifune and the old samurai had royally pissed him off by standing firm on his order that he and Ginkiri were not to meet until the actual wedding. He wasn't even allowed to see her when they did a quick rehearsal, someone else would be filling in for her.

Mifune had been adamant but Bee wasn't too inclined to listen to him and with the help of Yugito he had concocted a plan.

"You sure that one is her room?" Bee asked, looking down at the balcony.

"Positive," Yugito nodded, she had been given detailed information on sleeping arrangements before she had started her shift. "You sure you want to do this, you might scare the hell out of her if you just drop in."

"I'm not going to wait until we're standing at an altar to meet her."

"Okay, I'll wait around a bit…Just in case she starts screaming or something."

"Wish me luck," Bee chuckled and then dropped down from the ledge and onto the balcony.

The room was completely dark so it was difficult to tell if someone was actually in there. He tried the sliding glass door and luckily it was unlocked. The bed was empty, the bathroom door was open but the lights were off and the door leading out to the hall was slightly cracked.

He could hear the muffled voices of people talking outside and for a split moment he considered leaving but decided against it. Mifune could shove his traditions up his ass for all he cared. He assumed Ginkiri had to be one of the voices outside the door and even if he didn't actually get a chance to talk to her he was going to at least see her. Even standing face to face with her was better than nothing.

When he swung the door to the hall open though he didn't see Ginkiri, he was met with the sight Suboshi, a faceless samurai, and Daisuke.

"B-bee-sama!" Daisuke gasped.

"Fancy seeing you again," Suboshi half-laughed in mild shock. "Mind uh…explaining what you're doing in my sister's room."

"Was trying to meet her," Bee admitted in defeat.

Suboshi opened her mouth to tell him that it was a nice try but there was no way she was going to let that happen but an idea stuck her suddenly. It was one thing to convince her sister that she was being married off to a balding dwarf but it would be even better if she met the real Bee without knowing it. If she could make it work she knew the look on her sisters face tomorrow would be priceless.

"Ooooooh," she breathed. "That would be awesome. Okay, how about I make you a deal."

"He's really not supposed to be here," Daisuke said.

"Shush," Suboshi snapped. "It's _my_ sister so _I_ get to call the shots."

"Mifune-sama has made it clear that he doesn't want the two of them meeting," said the samurai.

"And what he doesn't know won't hurt him okay? I will let _you_," said Suboshi, pointing at Bee. "Meet Kiri _but _under one condition."

"What's the condition?" Bee asked, his eye narrowing a little.

"You can't tell her that you are you because at the moment she thinks _you_ are down the hall."

"Wait what?"

"_She_ is down the hall spying on who she thinks is _you_, if _you_ go telling her that you are really _you_ then you'll ruin _everything_."

Bee brows furrowed in concentration and confusion, he had no idea what this woman was talking about. He did know one thing for sure though, away from her father she was very different woman. When he had met her earlier she had been cold and collected, now she sounded like a complete basket case. "…but why?"

"Wanna know what, just forget it," Suboshi huffed.

"No," Bee said quickly. "No, I won't tell her that I'm me and I'll let her continue thinking that…uh… this other person is me."

It made absolutely no sense but he'd go along with it. What other options did he have?

* * *

><p>"<em>His laugh is rather pleasant,"<em> Ginkiri thought, trying to list off things that took away from rather strange appearance of the man she thought was Killer Bee. Everything her sister had told her was true and she was having a bit of trouble coping. She wasn't necessarily a shallow person, at least she didn't think that she was but she did have _some_ standards.

"_And I suppose his eyes are pretty. Yes, his eyes are very pretty." _

Just to confirm her own thoughts, Ginkiri peeked back around the corner being careful not be seen by her father.

"…_Rather plump though…pleasantly plump. That means he likes to eat right? I like to cook so maybe that's a good thing."_

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she completely missed the heavy footsteps coming up behind her as Bee approached.

Bee, for the most part, wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Two months of only having a few pictures and now he was standing a few feet away from her. He tried to think of something smart to say to catch her attention but for once words eluded him. She would have to turn around eventually though so he remained silent and took the opportunity to really look at her. Two-dimensional photographs were very different from a living, breathing person.

She was shorter than he had expected but even through the clunky material of her pajamas Bee would tell that she had a few curves, confirming that she was indeed a woman and not a child-bride like Yugito had speculated. It was difficult to tell much more about her, she was turned away from him and was partially hidden behind a mass of inky black hair.

Bee shivered as the images of several horror movies flashed before his eyes, ones where the ghosts always seemed to have a surplus of similar hair.

"_**An**__** onryo," **__Hachibi supplied irritatingly. __**"The spirit of a vengeful woman, returned from the grave to seek vengeance."**_

_"Shut up," __Bee hissed. He had creeped himself out enough as it was; he didn't need Hachibi adding to it. _

"_**Are you sure this is the girl you seek?"**_ Hachibi continued to goad. _**"Alone in a hallway, perhaps you're stumbled across something else."**_

Bee could feel the hairs on his arms stand on end. No honestly he couldn't be sure, not unless he got her to turn around.

As Bee reached out, intending to lightly tap her shoulder, Ginkiri turned, intending to back to her room. Before Bee could think to step back or to the side she walked into him and fell back, landing on the floor with a small 'oomph'.

Ginkiri's initial thought was to promptly apologize to the living wall she had bumped into but she soon realized that when she had fallen she had landed in partial view of where her father was standing. Etiquette aside, Ginkiri quickly scooted back out of view and then crouched down and peeked around the corner again. Thankfully her father was still talking to "Killer Bee" so she was in the clear.

"I'm very sorry," she said, turning to face the real Bee. "I didn't see you there."

"_Not a ghost," _Bee inwardly sighed in relief.

"It's alright," he smiled. "What are you doing?"

He wasn't sure what else he could have asked or said. If he had left it at that she probably would have gone back to her room and he didn't want that, he needed to get her talking.

"What-what?" Ginkiri squeaked, her eyed going wide.

"_**Cute," **_Hachibi cooed.

Bee arched a brow and chuckled. She was indeed cute but now actually seeing her it just solidified his previous thoughts of her not being his type. Even standing at full height, as she was now, she would barely reach his shoulder and her chipmunk cheeks seemed ever bigger in person.

"Looked like you were spying," Bee said, realizing that he had been staring.

"I was not," Ginkiri scoffed. "I…Needed to speak with my father and currently he's talking to someone that I'm not supposed to see…so I was _politely_ waiting."

"Of course you were," Bee said, his hand coming up to smooth out his goatee as he stepped around her and glanced down the hall. His eyes bulged a little upon seeing the stubby little man that was supposed to be _him_.

"It appears that they aren't going to stop talking anytime soon though," said Ginkiri, trying to take on a voice of authority but failing. "So if you'll excuse me, I shall retire to my room."

The pompous attitude really didn't fit her personality but Bee had startled her, almost exposed her to her father, and then accused her of spying, a little attitude was justified in her opinion.

"You're the one getting married off to Killer Bee-sama right?" Bee asked quickly, trying to get her to stop.

"Uh, yes?" Ginkiri said, stopping to look at Bee again. "Do you…do you know him?"

"Not personally," Bee lied.

"Oh," Ginkiri frowned. "Well, I really should be going. I apologize again."

"I sort of feel bad for you," Bee said, not giving much thought to what he was saying. "Getting married off to a face like _that_."

"_How…how dare he,"_ Ginkiri seethed inwardly. Perhaps "Killer Bee" wasn't traditionally handsome but he did have his perks and if what A had told her was true then he was also kind and compassionate and was probably ten times the ninja and man that this fool was. Granted she had never actually met "Killer Bee" she still felt the need to defend him, after tomorrow he would be her husband after all.

"What an incredibly rude thing to say," she said haughtily. "With a face like yours I don't think you're one to accurately judge another person's appearance."

Her words where sharp and believable but even as they left her lips she couldn't help but feel bad. The man standing across from her wasn't unattractive and perhaps he was having a bad day and it was being exhibited through insulting "Killer Bee". She knew that one insult didn't justify another but she was still wasn't going to apologize.

With her head held high she turned heel and marched away stiffly.

Bee smirked as he watched her go. He hadn't missed the hurt look that crossed her eyes, she had a nice little bite but she didn't like hurting people.

"_**Well, even if she was insulting you in a way she was also defending you," **_said Hachibi. _**"That could be a good sign I suppose."**_

"_I'm not even going to try figuring out that one yet," _Bee replied. _"…but since I'm here…"_

Rather than finding an alternate route past Mifune he decided to walk right past him.

"Son of a gun she's fun to handle and she packs a punch like a roman candle," Bee rapped cockily as he walked past not even bothering to look at Mifune or the man he was talking to. "She's a pack of black cats in a red paper wrapper, that little darlin is a firecracker."

Even from further down the hall he could hear Mifune begin sputtering angrily.

* * *

><p>AN: A bit happier with this chapter ^_^<p>

Bee's little "rap" is actually lyrics from "Firecracker" by Josh Turner…because I suck and couldn't think of anything on my own XD

Next chapter shall be the wedding and part of the reception.

Thanks for the reviews!

Almost forgot, I made a pic of Ginkiri and Killer Bee, you can find the link on my profile if your interested ^_^


	6. Chapter 5: Weddings suck

Chapter 5: Weddings suck…But at least there will be cake

* * *

><p>"In olden times, sacrifices were made at the altar, a practice that still continues."<br>- Helen Rowland

* * *

><p>Killer Bee grinned at the woman being lead down the aisle by Mifune but not for the usual reasons a man smiles at a woman he's about to be married to. No, he had just witnessed one of the most epic double-takes he had ever seen.<p>

Ginkiri had gotten almost a third of the way down the aisle before she had braved a look at what awaited at the end of it. Instead of a plump little balding man there was the man she had insulted the night before. At first it just didn't process and her gaze fell back to the floor. When her brain finally _did_ process what she had seen she had stopped dead in her tracks and stared down the aisle as if the devil himself awaited her.

It had taken a few tugs on her arm by Mifune before she had started walking again but the look of absolute confusion, shock and horror never left her face.

"Who is that?" Ginkiri whispered, trying hard not to move her lips. Surely if he father had decided to marry her off to someone different he would have told her right?

"Killer Bee," Mifune whispered back, he knew that Ginkiri had met him the night before so he didn't understand the reason behind her confusion.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"But…"

Mifune slowed their pace, trying to give them more time before reaching Bee. Of all times for his daughter to go completely insane, why did it have to be now? "That _is_ Killer Bee. Kiri are you feeling well?"

Bee's and A's brows arched at the same time. If Mifune slowed down anymore they would be at a complete stop. From his position at the altar Bee could already hear the murmured whispers drifting up from the crowd in attendance for the wedding.

"_Who_ were you talking to last night then?" Ginkiri whispered to her father.

"Last night?" Mifune breathed. He had talked to a number of people the night before…

Perhaps she was thinking of Daichi? He had talked at length with the lord about perhaps arranging a marriage between his son and Momoka. It still didn't make sense though; Killer Bee had been rather flamboyantly obvious about going against his wishes and meeting Ginkiri. "I was under the assumption that the two of you had met last night?" said Mifune, referring to the real Killer Bee.

"I did meet _him_ last night," said Ginkiri, her whispers getting a little louder. "But I met him while I was trying…I mean I had…Suboshi said you were talking to Killer Bee so I thought…and _he_ never said anything about…"

Ginkiri's brain was beginning to hurt as she tried piecing together everything that was going on. Mifune on the other hand was rather quick to deduce what had happened and any confirmation he needed was plastered on the face of his eldest daughter. He could see her standing near the front of the aisle, her hand was covering her mouth and her eyes were watering from suppressed laughter.

"_I'm going to marry her off to a baboon," _Mifune decided in that moment.

"It appears your sister has misled you."

The last few paces to the altar were agonizingly slow, a few times Mifune and Ginkiri really did stop. Bee could tell they were talking but he couldn't quite hear them, though he had a pretty good idea about what the subject might be. A part of him felt bad for misleading the girl but it did prove to have a positive effect. Before Ginkiri had noticed him she had looked to be on the verge of tears but after seeing him all traces of sorrow had been pushed aside by confusion.

When the two were close enough to the altar Mifune presented his daughter to A. A in turn presented Ginkiri to Bee, placing her hand in his. The odd little transaction had been explained to him earlier but Bee really hadn't been paying attention. During his crash course rehearsal C had played the part of the blushing bride and it had taken everything in Bee's power not to laugh at the blonde's obvious discomfort.

"_Her hand is clammy," _Bee thought inanely as the priest began to bless them.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur; Bee wasn't sure why he needed to be there at all. The two simply stood there and only spoke when they were instructed to repeat after the priest, cardboard cutouts could have been just as interactive.

The last vows were taken, the last prayers chanted, and then the last blessing was given until finally- _finally_ Bee was allowed to move. He had been instructed to turn and face Mifune and A and then walk down the aisle ahead of Ginkiri. The idea of being in the lead bothered him though, they were in this together and he wasn't some sort of master leading a dog. So in a last second decision he gripped her hand and forced her to walk beside him, earning a rather uppity look from Mifune and a number of the other random strangers lining the large hall.

"You looked surprised," Bee chuckled from beside Ginkiri.

"Deceiving your wife is not a very good way to start off a marriage," she whispered back.

* * *

><p>Bee had no idea who <em>any<em> of these people were and judging by the dulled look on his brides face neither did she. After the ceremony they had made their way over to rather large hall for the reception, where complete strangers made congratulatory speeches. The worst part was that Bee had to look at least a _little_ interested; the long table they were sitting at was on a stage so they could be easily viewed by everyone. He wasn't even allowed to talk to his wife, each and every time he tried he was shushed by either Mifune or A.

All in all Bee decided that weddings and receptions sucked. On the plus side he did know that cake was going to be involved at some point and food. Good food always made things better and with such a snobby group of people he knew the food had to be good.

On queue Bee's stomach gave a protesting groan, reminding him that he hadn't eaten breakfast.

Ginkiri's head quickly turned, her eyes darting from Bee's face, to his stomach and then back at his face. It took a moment but then a small smile spread across her lips which Bee returned with a sheepish smile of his own.

"Sensei," a drawled out voice said over the speakers, breaking the small exchange between Bee and Ginkiri.

"…You're married…congratulations…"

Bee didn't even have to look to know who had spoken but he did anyway and sure enough there stood his three apprentices at a table with their parents. Samui, who had spoken first, handed the microphone off to Karui.

"Congratulations," the redhead bit out irritably before practically throwing the mic at Omoi.

"Good luck Sensei," the boy smiled. "I'm glad to see that she's not covered in warts or young enough to be your daughter."

Bee's palm made and instant move to cover his face as the sounds of the microphone being torn away from Omoi echoed out of the speakers. His mother made a hasty apology and then everything went completely silent.

"Warts?" Ginkiri laughed under her breath.

Upon seeing that the bride had not been terribly offended a few muffled laughs began to fill the room but the moment was short lived and the mic was passed once again to yet another boring stranger.

By time the last person paid their respects Bee was slouched down so far in his chair that he risked disappearing under the table and Ginkiri appeared to have fallen asleep while still sitting up.

"Now you socialize," Mifune said, standing from his own seat.

"With each other?" Bee asked smartly though he knew what Mifune meant.

Mifune glared but didn't say anything, his attention turning to his daughter instead.

"Kiri, you'll go with Momoka and Yana to change and then…Kiri?"

Mifune's brows furrowed in concern when his daughter didn't acknowledge that she was being talked to.

"Kiri," he tried again as Bee sat up in his chair and peeked around to look at her face.

She _had_ fallen asleep.

Bee gave a sharp laugh causing both A and Mifune to give him an annoyed look and causing Ginkiri to wake with a start.

"That was lovely," Ginkiri mumbled groggily out of reflex.

"Go with Momoka and get changed," Mifune said gently. He couldn't blame her for falling asleep; he himself had almost dozed off a few times.

"You," Mifune said, looking at Bee. "Will come with me while she changes."

"What happened to socializing?" Bee asked uncertainly. He didn't like the look Mifune was giving him and talking to strangers seemed much better than going with him at the moment.

* * *

><p>After his "talk" with Mifune, Bee felt dirty. Most of the talk had been a bunch of legal jargon and the only other present had been A. He had understood bits and pieces of everything the old samurai had told him and none of it had really bothered him to begin with. There had been several documents to sign and then just as the "talk" was ending the mood suddenly shifted.<p>

Mifune had presented Bee with half of Ginkiri's dowry, a down payments of sorts, and informed Bee that he would receive the other half after consummation was confirmed by a trained medic. He had known about the stipulations of the marriage but now with ryo in hand everything became painfully real.

This was a typical arranged marriage, nothing new to those who still held to old traditions but to Bee if felt wrong. He had been _bought_ as a son-in-law, a trophy, and Ginkiri was little more than a tool in that whole transaction.

Within two weeks he had to _sleep_ with her, the idea made him nauseous. He knew that love was not required to have sex but at least knowing the other person had _always_ been a requirement in his book. There was no way to know someone well enough to go with bed with them in two weeks.

Bee wasn't sure how long he stood in that dismal room located off the main hall, with his hands pressed again the wooden table and his head drooped but he had been almost positive that he had been alone. Until Mifine's voice broke the silence.

"While Ginkiri was growing up I took every step I could think of to avoid having to arrange her marriage," the old samurai began slowly. "And yet she is the first daughter that I will lose."

"Why do it at all then?" Bee asked quietly, his head still drooped.

"My marriage was arranged," said Mifune, causing Bee to give him a weird look. "Just bear with me," he chuckled.

"My wife was the daughter of an impressive noble bloodline which was the only reason she was chosen to be my bride. Our first year of marriage was difficult because she was unlike any woman I had ever met; she was gentle, kind, cultured and detested violence. Eventually I came to appreciate and even love our differences, she became a breath of fresh air in my life…But not everything lasts forever, when Ginkiri was nine my wife fell ill and passed away a year later."

"My grief was overwhelming but a small light still remained, Ginkiri. She was like her mother in every way imaginable and I saw my wife reflect in here more and more with each passing year. Up until the point of my wife's passing Ginkiri had undergone the same training my other three daughters had but after that day I put a stop to it. I had two main reasons in mind for doing this, first I didn't to drive away the traces of her mother's nature and secondly I didn't want to make her appealing to Samurai suitors."

"Then the day came, not very long ago, when I realized that I could not hold onto my girls forever. I will admit that when I proposition the daimyo I had done so with the idea that you might be wed to Suboshi…but that changed and I like to think that it was the influence of my wife's spirit. You see, she was never very happy in the land of Iron and neither is Ginkiri. I knew that if I married her to a samurai she would be miserable, if I married her to a lord she would be kept under lock and key."

"Things here are different though, much different than in Iron. I can't say if that's good or bad thing in general but I will say that I believe that it will be good for Kiri. She can be…" Mifune trailed off, not quite sure about his wording.

"Normal?" Bee offered, straightening up to look a Mifune. He still didn't understand how someone could marry their child off to a stranger but he sort of understood where he was coming from.

"Yes," Mifune chuckled. "I'm not under any delusion that you two will share the same bond my wife and I had but I do hope that you will, at the very least, be friends."

* * *

><p>"I appear to have lost him again," Ginkiri murmured under her breath. Killer Bee was <em>not<em> a small man so she wasn't sure how she kept losing track of him. He would be standing beside her one second and then he would mysteriously vanish the next. At the moment he was the closest thing to friendly company that she had, each time she tried lurking around one of her sisters or her father they would shoo her away to talk with her guests. Staying glued to Killer Bee was the only way to avoid the awkwardness of talking to people on her own. One on one she was fine conversing with people but she didn't do well with large groups.

"She's looking for you again," Isawa said softly, spotting Ginkiri as she shifted helplessly through the throngs of peoples.

Bee glanced to where Isawa was looking and frowned. He felt bad for continuously abandoning her but he felt an obligation and need to make sure Isawa as alright. He hadn't expected to see her at his reception and even though she was hiding it well he knew that Isawa was hurt. After breaking things off with her they had tried remaining friends but it was difficult. She still loved him and he still cared for her and even though he knew that he would never act on those feelings now that he was married he couldn't simply push them aside.

He only needed a few more minutes, _why _did Ginkiri have to seek him out each and every time he stepped away. Though he fought it a small twinge of annoyance shot through him.

"I should go," Isawa said, her voice cracking at the edges.

Bee didn't have time to respond before she was walking away quickly, she needed to get out of there before the tears started falling.

Yugito, who had been watching Bee from her shadowed post stepped out and locked eyes with her fellow jinchuriki. She knew this was going to happen, she had warned Bee about keeping up _any_ sort of relationship but he hadn't listened. If _he_ wasn't smart enough to see this was going to lead to a disaster then she was going to try her luck with Isawa. She lingered a few moments longer, leveling Bee with a hard stare before turning away to fallow after his distraught ex-lover.

Just as Yugito was having her stare-down with Bee Ginkiri was making her way towards them. She wasn't sure what was going on but she could practically feel the tension radiating off the two of them.

"_She doesn't look very happy,"_ Ginkiri thought. The tall blonde stared at Bee for a few more second and then turned quickly to leave. The moment she did Ginkiri noticed the way Bee's shoulders sagged. _"I wonder what…__**oh**__."_

Ginkiri hadn't even considered the idea that Bee might have been or even still was attached to someone else. Her quick conclusion on the whole situation _was_ correct but _who_ he was involved with was not.

She was torn. On one hand it was highly disrespectful to keep a mistress, even though it wasn't uncommon. On the other hand she didn't feel like she had any sort of right to tell Bee what he could and couldn't do. She was in no position to be dictating his life. In a way she felt like she was intruding upon whatever relationship he had with that woman.

"…_This isn't a love marriage,"_ she told herself as she walked up behind Bee.

"Um," she said softly, causing Bee to turn and look at her. "Dinner is going to be served soon and well…I'm sure things are going to get pretty chaotic while everyone is finding their seats so…well if you need to perhaps…uh, step away for a moment, I'm sure no one would notice."

Bee inwardly groaned. Within that stuttered and mumbled little statement he learned quickly that guilt was a bitch. This was her first full sentence directed _at him_, without the influence of an outside source and without being spoken under false pretenses… and she was more or less giving him permission to go see another woman.

"Nothing that can't be taken care of later," Bee assured her.

Ginkiri's brows furrowed, if he _was_ going to have a mistress she preferred that she knew about it. If she did know about it she wanted him to know that she knew about it. Trying to playing it off as if she didn't know about it even though he would know that she knew about it would just be maddening. _Thinking_ about it was maddening.

While trying to think of a good way to handle the situation she, by habit, resorted to one of her more unusual tics, clicking.

Bee blinked as she made a rapid succession of various high-pitched clicking noises with her tongue and lips. It was one of _the_ most unusual sounds he had ever heard a woman make. Either she was an alien, was attempting some strange bird-call, or…

"You really are a chipmunk aren't you?" Bee laughed, shaking his head.

"Pardon?"

* * *

><p>"She looks comfortable," Bee snorted.<p>

"She's making it difficult to eat," A muttered.

The night was coming to a close, most of the guests had already left although a few stragglers remained, Mifune had disappeared, and Ginkiri's sisters were occupied, leaving A, Bee, and Ginkiri alone at the main table. Actually it was more like A and Bee were the only two there because Ginkiri was more or less dead to the world.

She was completely passed out, sitting at an awkward sideways angle leaned up against one of A's massive arms. It was such a delicate position that A knew if he moved even a little she would fall out of her chair and onto the floor.

Bee eyed his wife for a few seconds longer and then turned his attention to the stacks of empty plates steadily piling up around A. In A's opinion there was no use letting good food go to waste so he was making a nice snack of anything and everything left over.

"So what do I _do_ with her now?" Bee asked while absently plucking at the tablecloth.

"Take her home," A chuckled. "After that I don't care what you do as long as it's consensual."

"I don't mean that," Bee sighed. "I mean, on a day to day basis. I still have to train…do I just leave her in my apartment."

"Hm," A hummed. "Well I would take at least a few days off, get to know her better, show her around Kumo and then let her do her thing. She's very _domesticated_ so I think she'll be kept busy sorting out that train-wreck you call your home. If she gets bored with that she could always find a job, take up more hobbies… She's a grown woman I think she'll be able to handle herself just fine."

"Any other words of wisdom?" Bee smiled slightly.

"Don't fully commit yourself to this unless you know you can live with that decision, because if you can't you'll end up ruining your life as well as hers…Now get her off me, she's starting to drool."

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, more than 20k words in and we're still not quite to any sort of real interaction but that will start in the next chapter. ^_^<p>

**FreddyJason27:** Hachibi- heh well I do have some reasons for his fondness for Kiri. Without her family around she's going to be a bit of a lone duckling for a while and I needed something to sort of balance that out. I'm also filling in the gaps of his personality with pieces of a typical Taurus, focusing mainly on their love of stability and family…So he's more or less trying to fill in certain gaps he's seeing in Bees life in order to form a more stable environment for his host :P

Lastly as weird as it sounds XD I saw part of a documentary a long time ago about the intelligence level of octopi and this one octopus had a weird obsession with collecting small shiny object it it's tank and when I started writing this that memory suddenly came back to me. So part of his reasons for liking her is due to the fact that she's so small :P … I hope some of that made some sort of sense.

**Cheshirecat900:** Lol Sue-ish? What is your definition of a Mary-Sue?... If you can point out something specific I might be able to work on it.


	7. Chapter 6: Alone at last

_**Chapter 6: Alone at last.**_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I'm a neurotic nut, but you're crazy!"<strong>_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Just go in."<strong>_

"_I can't do that, what if she's…y'know, naked or something?"_

"_**Yes, a woman who was so terrified of the idea of coming home with you last night that she was trembling would **__obviously__** be comfortable enough to sleep in the nude."**_

Killer Bee had to admit that Hachibi did have a point. He had already knocked twice but Ginkiri had yet to give any sort of response so he had two options. He could bang on the door rather than simply knock or he could go in there and wake her up. He was a little worried about the impression banging on her door would give so that left him with only one option.

"_If she's naked I'm going to find a way to blame you."_

"_**I will gladly take the blame in exchange for a quick look like **__that__**."**_

Bee's hand faltered as he reached to open the door to Ginkiri's room. _"…That is disturbing and wrong. What the hell has gotten into you lately?"_

Hachibi remained silent, further unsettling Bee. Since this whole marriage thing had started up their usual roles had been reversed, at least somewhat. He found himself being far more serious than he usually was and Hachibi was the one making light of the situation…but Bee drew the line at perverted comments.

"…_never mind I don't __**want**__ to know."_

"_**You really don't."**_

Bee shuttered, the sooner things fell back into some semblance of normalcy the better. Pushing aside Hachibi's disturbing interests in his new wife, Bee opened the door.

"_Well at least I know she wasn't just ignoring me,"_ he mused.

There, directly in the middle of the bed, completely covered up, was a small, breathing lump. He thought about simply tapping her but curiosity took hold of him. The lump, also known as Ginkiri, was rather oddly shaped making him wonder about her position. Bee arched a brow, stepping closer to the bed then kneeled down.

He gave a small prayer, hoping she was decent and then lifted the comforter enough to peek under.

Bee chuckled. Ginkiri was curled up in a little ball with her arms and legs tucked up under her and her butt up in the air. Her face was completely pressed into the mattress and he couldn't help but wonder _how_ she managed to breath.

"Ginkiri," Bee whispered.

"_**Whispering probably isn't the best way to wake her up."**_

"Ginkiri," he tried again, this time a little louder and with a little aggravation.

His only response from the woman was a small, muffled groan.

Bee frowned.

"Ginkiri."

Still nothing.

With a sigh Bee pulled the comforter up and off of her completely. Ginkiri tucked her arms and legs closer to her body not gave no signs of waking.

"_Damn this woman can sleep," _Bee thought as he reached across the bed to give her shoulder a small nudge.

Ginkiri groaned again but this time her head turned towards him and her eyes fluttered open groggily. Her face was scrubbed clean of the makeup she had been wearing the previous day and for the first time Bee was given a good look at what his wife looked like.

Sort of…

At the moment she kind of looked like hell warmed over. There was dried drool on her chin and red imprints on her face from the little crinkles in the sheets…and her left eyebrow was sticking up at a funny angle…

"_Well…I guess even at her worst she's not half bad,"_ Bee thought.

"Uh, I wasn't sure how much time you would need to get ready," said Bee when she continued to just stare at him. "We're supposed to meet your father in about two hours."

"Kay," she croaked. The night before the wedding she had gotten only a few hours of sleep and then she hadn't been able to sleep much last night so needless to say she was drained.

Her eyes were still drooped and aside from turning her head she really didn't move much more. She didn't seem anything like the dainty, well-mannered women he had married yesterday.

"_**Must not be a morning person." **_

Bee nodded in agreement and stood, he had done his part and woken her up so he was free to go now right?

He walked out of the room and closed the door, then waited for any sound to show that she was getting up. Complete silence continued to drag on, prompting him to crack the door open again and look inside.

Ginkiri was still in the same position and her eyes were closed.

"_Do you think she has some sort of sleep disorder?"_

"_**I suppose it's possible."**_

Last night she had fallen asleep sitting up and then again propped up against A. Bee was willing to admit that sleeping was one of his favorite activities too but not to _that_ extreme.

His jaw jutted out to one side as he came to a conclusion, he was going to have to _force_ her to wake up. Bee opened the door again, far less gently or quietly this time, and strode over to the bed with heavy footsteps. Quickly and easily one arm hooked under her stomach and Bee hoisted her up from the bed.

The bed was moving…or she was moving, Ginkiri couldn't be sure. Only a few seconds earlier she had been warm and comfortable and now…was that the floor?

Upon seeing the wood floor of her room Ginkiri went into panic mode. She had fallen out of bed enough times to know that seeing your floor when first waking was never a good sign. Ginkiri braced herself for impact but it never came, instead her world tipped and she was forced into a standing position.

"Awake now?" Bee laughed.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry," Ginkiri apologized again after shuffling out of her room and into the small living area where Bee awaited her. She had already apologized profusely but still felt the need to do so again. The fact that her brand new husbands had been forced to physically pull her out of bed to wake her up had been mortifying. If it had been Yana or her father she knew she would have gotten the lecture of a lifetime but luckily Bee didn't seem mad.<p>

"Already told you, don't worry about it," Bee smiled. He had never heard someone apologize so much for something so small, you'd think she had accidently killed his nonexistent dog. "You going to wear that?"

Bee motioned to the light blue yukata she was wearing.

"Is something wrong with it?" Ginkiri frowned, looking down to see if there was something she was missing.

"No…Just wondering if you would be more comfortable in something…ah…more casual."

Ginkiri's head tilted to one side, in her opinion what she was wearing _was_ casual. The obi wasn't even a tied obi; it was just a clip on of sorts. Anything more casual than this would constitute as pajamas.

"Never mind," Bee shook his head. If she was confortable then he didn't care. "You ready?

"Yes," Ginkiri smiled.

"Okay, then lead the way," said Bee as he opened the front door.

"But…I don't know where we're going."

"The Raikage's office."

"…I still don't…"

"I need to make sure you can get around on your own. Don't worry, if you start going the wrong way I'll point you in the right direction."

Ginkiri frowned; she didn't understand why he didn't just lead then. It seemed a little pointless but she did as she was told and led the way out the door. She knew that the block of apartments where Bee lived branched out from the Raikage tower and if she remembered correctly they had passed through the lower levels of the tower on their way home last night so at least she had a general direction to work with.

"Left, right?" she asked, turning to look up at Bee.

"Well which one?" Bee chuckled.

"No I mean…It's to the left correct?"

"Yes it's to the left."

"So who else lives here?" Ginkiri asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Mostly people that A wants to keep close."

"Ah."

* * *

><p>"Fifteen-thousand ryo froooom…the Abu…Abukara clan," said Ginkiri, re-reading the front of a small white envelope. "Or I think that's what it says."<p>

They had seen her father and sisters off that morning and to Bee's surprise it had been a rather stiff farewell. He had expected heartfelt words and maybe a few tears but there had been nothing of the sort. Her father had stated that he would return in two weeks and her sister, Momoka, had drilled her on proper protocol for sending out thank you cards. After that they had a quick lunch with A and then made their way over to the hall where the reception was held so they could do what they were currently doing.

Killer Bee shrugged after taking a look at the envelope. "If it's not and they don't get their thank you card then it's their own damn fault for not writing more legibly," Bee muttered.

With a guestless of more than five hundred painfully polite people Bee and Ginkiri had a lot of thank you cards to send out. The task of writing down each of the names and their corresponding gift had seemed like a daunting task but they had worked out a system. Ginkiri would do all of the opening and Bee would do all the writing. Originally he had been the one supposed to be doing the opening but it was soon discovered that Ginkiri's handwriting was atrocious so they switched places.

Ideally this wasn't how he would have wanted to spend the day but at least they were alone and amidst everything they were doing they were also getting to know each other.

"My favorite color is red," said Bee. "Was that the last one?"

"One more and my favorite colors are green and blue," replied Ginkiri as she carefully opened the last envelope. "Twenty-thousand ryo from the…oh, from Raikage-sama."

Bee decided to forgo writing down anything down for A, if he wanted to thank him he could simply do it in person. "But if you had to pick one out of the two which would it be?" Bee asked.

"Why would you ever need to choose between two favorite colors?" Ginkiri giggled.

"I dunno, humor me."

"Hm, bl-er-green…I think."

Bee smiled a little at her. If he didn't think about the fact that she was his wife now it was actually very easy to talk to her. It also seemed like they were on the same page as far at this little relationship went, she had practically protested against going home with him the night before. She hadn't been given much choice in the matter though, at some point during the ceremony or the reception the remainder of her clothes and other essentials had been moved to his apartment. So unless she wanted to sleep in the nude or in a stuffy kimono she _had_ to go with Bee.

"So do you just wanna move over there to go through the other stuff?" asked Bee, motioning over to small mountain of gifts. It was more traditional to give money but it appeared that several dozen people decided to forgo tradition.

_Bee_ hoped that most of the bulk was due to boxing, because if not he wasn't sure how he was going to fit everything into his apartment. _Ginkiri_ hoped that somewhere in the large mass there would be flatware and dinnerware…and perhaps some glasses…and towels… maybe some pots and pans…

Actually there were a number of things she hoped to find because Bee's apartment appeared to be lacking in many things. The living area was okay, sort of sparse but still okay, as was the dining room. Those two could be easily fixed with a few paintings but the rest of his apartment needed more work.

After she had woken up that morning Bee had informed her that there was cereal in the kitchen if she was hungry, which she had been but upon seeing the kitchen she had quickly changed her mind. Bee had a total of two spoons, a fork, three bowls, two plates, and four big plastic cups, all of which looked questionable and didn't match. She hadn't even bothered to look to see if he had any pots and pans because she suspected the situation would be the same.

"…Or I could just bring them over here," offered Bee, once again giving what she was wearing a questionable look.

Ginkiri laughed slightly and shook her head. "Do people not wear kimono's or yukata's here in Kumo?"

"They do, but they're usually worn for special occasions not every day wear."

A slow, sly smile tugged at Ginkiri's lips. "If they bother you that much you could buy me a new wardrobe," she offered.

"They don't bother me," Bee chuckled. "If you're comfortable in them then by all means keep wearing them if not _you_ can buy you a new wardrobe."

"Then stop commenting on them."

"This one is whack, I think I'll do us both a favor and send it back."

Ginkiri blinked owlishly at Bee. Somewhere in the middle of opening their gifts Bee had started rapping. At first she thought the rhymes where unintentional but soon he started adding rhythm confirming that he was indeed doing it on purpose. She really wasn't sure what to make of it and she didn't want to come off as rude by asking about it.

"I…I sort of like them," she said uncertainly, looking at the contents of the package they had just opened. There were two dolls, a man and a woman, both beautifully painted.

"Look at the card; they help with fertility- I don't need these two around to question my ability," rapped Bee, holding up the small card that had been in the box.

Ginkiri took the card and read over it slowly. They were fertility dolls.

"Perhaps you're right," Ginkiri said quickly. She could feel her face heating up; she knew that she must be a _lovely_ shade of red.

Most of their gifts had been useful, though a few suggestive ones had been thrown in. Ginkiri decided not to think about those, if they came across something of that nature it was thrown into the "do not want" pile and was promptly forgotten.

"We should get married again," said Bee in an offhand manor as he sifted through all the paper left over so see if there was anything else.

"Why?" Ginkiri giggled, pushing the dolls to the side.

"Even with all my birthdays combined I don't think I've ever gotten so many gifts and so much money," Bee snorted.

"Would you really want to sit through all those speeches again?"

Bee grinned. "Might be worth it and who knows maybe I'll just take a hint from you and sleep through them."

"I was tired," Ginkiri frowned.

"Ah, well Hachibi and I were considering the possibility that you might have a sleep disorder."

Ginkiri's eyebrows shot up. Hachibi, the eight-tails, her father had explained to some degree that Bee was its vessel but she didn't know he could talk to it, or even that it was intelligent enough _to_ talk. Her curiosity peaked past the need for courtesy as countless questions bombarded her all at once. It was inevitable for a few to break through.

"Hachibi, so you can talk to…uh…"

He, She, It- She didn't know which to use and she didn't want to offend him.

"Him," Bee nodded with a slight frown. He mentally kicked himself for bringing Hachibi up, for someone not really used to jinchuriki it would no doubt creep her out to know that he communicated with his tailed beast… Actually even people who _were_ accustomed to jinchuriki tended to get creeped out.

Ginkiri stuttered and tripped over the many different questions that tried getting out but was finally able to settle on one. "Can he…well…is he aware of things? I mean…like outside things?"

"As in seeing and hearing what I see and hear?" Bee clarified for her.

Ginkiri nodded.

"Yes."

Ginkiri's brain nearly exploded with questions of protocol. She had never acknowledged this Hachibi, was she supposed to? Would it be rude if she didn't, would it be rude if she _did_? When greeting Killer Bee was she expected to greet Hachibi as well? She would have to use Bee as a mediator, which could be considered rude in some instances. Then again it might be the equivalent of using a translator in which case it wasn't rude, so long as you didn't acknowledge the translator and directed each statement and inquiry towards the person you were communicating with.

"You okay?" Bee asked. Ginkiri's mentally frazzled state was showing in her features and it had him concerned.

"I don't know what to do," she said quickly.

"Huh?... If the it weirds you out we could just change the sub…"

"No," Ginkiri cut him off, her voice dropping into a hushed whisper, as if Hachibi wouldn't be able to hear it. "I don't know what to _do_. Have I offended him? Was I supposed to greet him? How am I supposed to communicate with him? Should I include him in conversation?"

"Slow down, slow down," Bee chuckled. He was having trouble keeping up with her questions, most of which he wasn't even sure how to answer. It wasn't common to address a jinchuriki's tailed beast, not because there was anything specifically against it, people just didn't do it. People viewed them as monsters and in many cases that viewpoint was justified because of the damage inflicted by them. For someone coming from Iron though, it was a completely neutral standpoint. They had never had never been in possession of a jinchiriki, nor had they ever been attacked by a tailed beast.

Neutrality, Bee decided, was a very awesome thing.

He didn't like the idea of her talking to Hachibi _through_ him though, that had the potential to get very annoying very quickly.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. "When referring to him he's Hachibi-sama but you don't have to address him directly."

"_**That doesn't seem very fair." **_

"_You don't get a say in the matter." _

"…Okay," Ginkiri nodded.

"Hey, now that we're done here do you want to go get something for dinner?" asked Bee.

"Shouldn't we pick up first and move everything we wanted to keep?"

The idea of food still seemed nauseating to Ginkiri. During their lunch A kept adding more food to her plate and, too polite to decline, she had eaten everything.

"We can come back and take care of it," said Bee, sounding a little hopeful.

Ginkiri held back a groan and nodded. "O-okay."

* * *

><p>Kumo was an exceptionally disorientating place; at least it was to Ginkiri. In some areas it felt like you were several hundred feet underground whereas in other areas the fact that you were several hundred feet <em>in the air<em> was painfully apparent. On their way to find a suitable place for dinner they had gone through many halls where there were no traces of natural lighting, then they would turn a corner and then everything would open up. When they went through areas like that Ginkiri would hug the walls in an attempt to stay away from the massive windows that overlooked Kumo, only moving away slightly when they would pass a shop, restaurant, or any other sorts of breaks. She usually didn't have an issue with heights but then again she had never been quite so high up.

"Afraid you're going to fall over?" Bee teased as they walked. "The glass is pretty thick so I don't think you need to worry."

Ginkiri glanced at Bee and then ventured a look towards the windows and cringed. "I still think I'll be safer over here."

"But you're missing such a pretty view."

"That's okay."

"I guess you'll get used to it eventually," Bee chuckled.

"Um, if you need to get from one area to another are the passageways the only way to do that?" asked Ginkiri. Kumo was more or less built in a large circle with a few towers in the middle, and it seemed like a lot of work to have to go completely around to get from one side to the other.

"Yes and no," said Bee, skirting closer to the window. "Here, look."

Ginkiri shook her head and pressed further against the wall.

"It'll be easier of you can actually see what I'm talking about."

"No…really…that's okay."

Bee glanced down the hall and back, there were only a few people around so he didn't have to worry about causing a scene. "Unless you purposely jump out the window you'll be fine," he laughed while walking over to Ginkiri to grip her wrist.

Ginkiri sputtered and protested as she dug her heels into the floor but it was no use. Even with the added friction she found herself easily pulled along.

"Right, well," Bee began, holding onto Ginkiri to keep her from moving away. "You see those…you have to open your eyes."

Ginkiri with eyes tightly closed, shook her head.

Bee smirked; if she was going to act like a child then he was going to treat her like one. He switched the hand holding her wrist and placed it on top of her head and then, careful not to hurt her, he used his index and ring finger to lift her eyebrows, thus forcing her eyes open a little bit.

"Okay, as I was saying…"

* * *

><p>"Darui is still watching them," said C, standing before A. "When I left it appeared that he was trying to torture her."<p>

"Torture her?" A repeated. He had sent his two little henchmen to keep an eye on Ginkiri and Bee. He knew that Bee would never hurt her and she didn't really have the ability to hurt him but he still wanted to make sure that everything was going smoothly.

"By forcing her to look out a window," C explained. "It appears she's afraid of heights."

"That doesn't sound like torture," A snorted.

"By forcibly opening her eyes…like this."

C lifted his right arm, bringing his hand over the top of his head, illustrating that Killer Bee had been doing.

A laughed, it still didn't sound like torture but he did decide that sitting Bee down and explaining sensitivity would be in everyone's best interest.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:<em>** If you think Ginkiri seems a little callous towards her family leaving, rest assured that all of that will be covered in the next chapter. It WAS going to be in this one but this ended up being longer than I had planned and this worked out as a better stopping point.

Thank you again for your reviews ^_^


	8. Chapter 7: Banana Nut Muffins

_**Chapter 7: Banana Nut Muffins**_

* * *

><p><em>Gun-shy and quivering<br>Timid, without a hand  
>Feign brave with steel intent<br>Little and hardly here_

Day one, day one, start over again  
>Step one, step one, with not much making sense<br>Just yet I'm faking it 'till I'm pseudo making it  
>From scratch, begin again but this time<br>I as I and not as we

_-Alanis Morissette: Not as We __**-AN: Quite a few of her songs have inspired this story.**_

* * *

><p>Ginkiri settled back onto her bed, gingerly combing through her damp hair as she reflected on the day's events.<p>

The people of Kumo were colorful and loud in comparison to Iron but they didn't seem all that hospitable. The deeper she and Killer Bee got into Kumo the more crowded it became. With so many people around it had been nearly impossible to miss the disapproving and sometimes outright looks of hostility she had been given. She supposed she shouldn't have expected anything less, Iron was the same way if not more so. Outsiders were severely shunned in Iron, the few brave souls that immigrated in due to marriage or other reason never lasted very long. Actually the divorce rate for people married to non-natives was rather high, half divorced within two years and less than ten percent ever saw their ten year anniversary.

"Hopefully it will get better," she murmured to herself. If it didn't she wasn't sure what she was going to do, she couldn't just lock herself away in the apartment, she would eventually go crazy. In Iron he father generally kept her cooped up but at least she had an entire compound to roam free in.

Ginkiri sniffled a little at the thought of her home. She hated being locked up all the time and part of her had really been looking forward to getting away from it but now she wasn't so sure. Iron was security and now she felt bare without it. She missed her sisters, Yana, Hachi…her father. She missed the familiar faces, as cold as some of them might have been.

…and yes, she even missed the bothersome snow.

She felt like an alien now. She behaved differently, dressed differently, even spoke differently.

In wasn't long until little sniffles turned into a steady flow of tears. She glanced around the room, her belongings where here but this wasn't _her_ room. This was a room in a strange apartment where her things just happened to be located.

A feeling of longing and regret crept over her. Even if other people had been watching she wished that she had pushed etiquette aside and hugged her family one last time before they left. In that moment she wanted nothing more than to be held in the familiar and safe arms of her father.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do without him now that he was gone. Every decision in her life had always gravitated around his guidance… Now she was going to have to function on her own, she was going to have to be an individual.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Why are you doing that?"<strong>_ Hachibi asked as Bee turned the little statuette sitting on the dining-room table so that it was facing the opposite direction.

"_It's funny watching her fix it when she thinks I'm not looking,"_ Bee replied.

"_**That's mean." **_

"_No it's not."_

Bee had discovered his wife was easily flustered when things weren't in perfect order while they had been putting away the gifts they had received. He wasn't too keen on home decorating but he had figured he might as well help her out but each time he would put something where he thought it would look good she would wait till he moved to something else and then either straighten whatever it was or move it all together. Eventually he gave up trying to help and had pre-occupied himself with continuously turning the little statue.

He was on a mission to see how many times he could mess it up before she stopped moving it back.

"_It doesn't even look like my apartment anymore,"_ said Bee as he surveyed the 'damage'.

"_**That's a good thing."**_

"_Why didn't you mention that you didn't like my setup before?"_

"_**I knew it would be pointless."**_

Bee flicked off the kitchen and dining room light and then moved to the living room where he proceeded to turn a few more things.

"_It won't be so bad having her around I guess. She needs to stop being so timid though."_

"_**That will come with time."**_

"_Hope so," _Bee chuckled, shaking his head. After diner, when the crowds were getting really bad he had lost track of Ginkiri. It hadn't taken long to find her but when he did she had looked terrified. After that she had grabbed his hand and refused to let go until they were completely clear of _any_ people. He could understand being nervous but outright fear seemed a little silly.

"_**You done yet?"**_

"_One more," _said Bee, tilting one of the paintings that Ginkiri brought from her room so that it was just slightly askew. _"Bet she won't notice that one."_

"_**I have to wonder if the Raikage knew what he was doing when he entrusted you with a wife."**_

"_Don't say that, it's all in good…" _

Bee trailed off. To get to his room he had to pass Ginkiri's and on his way the distinct sound of sniffling could be heard.

"_Weepy women, I'm surrounded by them."_

"_**You need to make sure she's okay."**_

"_Why-y, I hate when they cry." _

"_**So you'll let her sit in there and cry…alone…**__completely__** alone?"**_ Hachibi asked, after twenty-five years of being with his host he knew all the right buttons to push.

Bee groaned and lifted his hand enough to lightly tap the door with his knuckles. He really did hate seeing women cry, they always looked so vulnerable and their reasons were usually ridiculous.

"_She was fine earlier I don't know why she would be cryin."_

There was a delay before Ginkiri opened the door but Bee waited patiently. When the door finally did open she greeted him with a bright but watery smile. There was no mistaking her red, puffy eyes or the pinkness of her cheeks where she had tried to hastily scrub the tears away.

"Yes?" she asked, still smiling that fake smile.

Simply asking why she was crying seemed too blunt so Bee went with the next best option. "You okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, well…I'm going to bed so…"

Bee held out his fist, if she wasn't going to _tell_ him why she was crying he had ways of finding out on his own. Most women seemed to lack the ability to just say what was bothering them, so he had learned early on that there was usually no use to prodding them with questions but he also knew that he couldn't help if he didn't fully understand the problem.

Ginkiri glanced down at Bee's fist. Unlike the first time, when A had done the same thing, she actually knew what to do. Her father had explained it as a greeting or a general show of friendship. With a small smile, a real smile, she lifted her much smaller fist and bumped it against his.

Their contact only lasted a few seconds but that was all Bee needed. His ability to interpret someone's heart and emotions was unique and it came in handy for many situations. All he needed was a bit of skin to skin contact and a somewhat open person; luckily for him Ginkiri was incredibly open. He was bombarded with her feelings of longing, loneliness, fear as well as the images of her family, her home and the cold looks she had received on their earlier outing.

"_The little chipmunk is homesick."_

Bee smiled down at her and then pulled her into hug.

"I'm glad that you're here," he said. He couldn't do anything about being homesick but as for the other things bothering her; she just needed a little encouragement.

"R-really?" she asked, he voice muffled by the material of his vest.

"M-hm, I don't think my apartment had ever looked this nice."

He heard her laugh slightly but could feel the trembling of her shoulders. He didn't have to look down to know that she was crying again.

Her small hands wound themselves in the sides of his vest and she wept. She hardly knew this man and normally she wouldn't cry in front of someone like this but she needed something to hold onto.

* * *

><p>She wanted to hate her, she <em>needed<em> to hate her. This was the woman that had taken away what could have been everything. If she did hate her it would be completely justified…

"…She's just a kid," Isawa told herself as she watched Ginkiri from a distance.

When she had gone out that morning she had done so with the intention of _not_ thinking about Bee or his new bride but had eventually caught sight of said bride and proceeded to follow her, all the while telling herself that her behavior was not stockerish in the slightest. After following the other women for a while it had become apparent that she had no idea where she was going and more than likely had no idea where she was.

It was hard to hate something that looked so helpless and confused.

"_I'm…I'm not going to go over there," _she told herself, looking at Ginkiri as she fidgeted in her spot on the bench she was sitting on. _"I won't…She's Bee's wife he should have made sure she knew her way around. Bee should have…where __**is**__ Bee? That idiot, he shouldn't have..argh." _

Before she knew what she was doing her feet began moving, bringing her closer and closer to where Ginkiri sat.

"…you look a little lost," she said, coming to stand in front of Ginkiri.

"No," Ginkiri said quickly, looking up to stare wide-eyed at Isawa. In truth she was more turned around than she ever had been but it wasn't something she wanted to admit. Only children got lost…but, if she didn't get some sort of help she knew that it could be forever before Bee or someone else found her. "Well, maybe a little," she smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe I could help," Isawa offered awkwardly. "Where are you trying to go?"

"I was trying to find a grocery store," said Ginkiri as she stood from the bench. "…some women told me I could find one if I went this way but…I guess I misunderstood their directions."

Isawa frowned, there were no grocery stores even close to this area, most of them were located in the more residential areas of Kumo. Actually there was one that wasn't too far from the Kage tower and Bee's apartment.

When she had started dating Bee she had been the subject of a lot of ridicule from many women and she suspected that Ginkiri had been the victim of something similar.

"There is one sort of close to this area," she lied, not wanted to reveal her suspicions to Ginkiri. "But it's sort of hard to get to. If you would like I could show you where a better one is."

Isawa had never been a spiteful person and even on her worst days she would never have the heart to send someone on a wild goose-chase.

"You would do that?" Ginkiri beamed.

"Sure, just follow me."

"What's your name?" asked Ginkiri, falling into step beside Isawa.

"Uh, Sawai," Isawa said, cursing herself a little at her own unoriginality. She didn't want to reveal her real name just in case Ginkiri said something to Bee.

"I'm Ginkiri."

"You're the one that got married to Killer Bee right?"

"Uh-huh."

* * *

><p>"How did you manage to <em>lose<em> her!" A roared.

"I dunno!" Bee whimpered, trying to resist the urge to resist A's iron claw. It was always less painful when he didn't try fighting back.

"Why weren't you watching her?" A seethed, releasing his brothers face.

"She was asleep when I left and gone when I got back," Bee defended.

"Why did you leave? Where did you go!"

"Er…out," Bee mumbled. He didn't want to admit to A that he had gone to see if Isawa was alright. When he had gotten up that morning Ginkiri _had_ been asleep so he figured there was no harm in leaving for a little bit. On his way out he ran into Yugito, who have him a stern lecture, and by the time he had gotten to Isawa's apartment she was already gone.

"Out where?" A demanded.

"Just _out_."

"You better find her."

"That's what I _was_ doing; I just wanted to see if she came here."

"Out, find her _now_" A snapped.

Bee didn't need to be told twice. He made a hasty retreat out the door knowing that if he didn't he would get his face smashed again.

"Just over a day and already he's lost track of her," A sighed in exasperation.

"Indeed," said Mabui through tight lips.

"Huh, somethin wrong?"

"I think the two of you have overlooked the fact that she's a young woman, not a possession that can be lost or misplaced."

"…I didn't mean it like that."

"M-hm."

"I didn't."

"Mm—hm."

* * *

><p>Ginkiri was now safe within the confines of a medium sized grocery story and had a clear idea of how to get back to Killer Bee's apartment, giving her room to think about more important things…such as breakfast.<p>

She had already grabbed a few essentials and now it was winding down to meal planning. For once she had all the freedom in the world to choose what she wanted to make but she was drawing a blank. In Iron she did quite a bit of cooking but the meals were never her own choice.

"_By the time I get back it will already be lunchtime,"_ she thought, staring aimlessly at a shelf of various packaged foods. _"Bee-sama might not be back yet though…so I should make something that would be okay re-heated…muffins…banana muffins…banana nut muffins." _

Banana nut muffins wouldn't usually be considered a lunch food but freedom was beginning to go to her head. Yana had always monitored how much sweets Ginkiri ate, which was a shame because Ginkiri really did love sweets. She wasn't very good about exercising to offset the amount of sweets she ate though, so Yana did have her reasons.

"Muffins are _good_," said Ginkiri to no one in particular, though her little statement did cause a few people to look at her as they passed by.

"_I have to make more than just muffins…cookies…and…and maybe something with a little protein. Dango has protein right?"_

Ginkiri maneuvered around the store, adding this and that to her basket until it contained much more than she had originally intended. It was her first time shopping alone and she was learning a valuable lesson, never shop for food when you're hungry.

It wasn't until she was putting her purchases on the counter that she realized how much she had actually gotten. She wasn't really worried about how much it would cost, after she and Bee had put everything away last night he had taken one of the decorative pots, stuffed some ryo in it and told her that if she needed more to tell him. Her biggest concern at the moment was getting everything back to Bee's apartment.

"Um, would it be okay…I mean," she stuttered to the elderly man behind the register. "Is it okay if I leave some of this here? I might have to make two trips."

"Sure," the man smiled. "I'll separate everything so you can get the perishables home first."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"<em>You don't think she could have been abducted or something…do you?"<em>

"_**In the middle of the day? No I don't think so."**_

Bee jumped down from his balcony and onto the flat of another building. He had just checked his apartment again, just be sure that she hadn't returned but she wasn't there.

"_Where could she have gone then?"_

"_**Maybe you scared her away, maybe she's on her way to Iron right this minute, maybe the idea of being married to someone like you drove her to throw herself over a ledge…maybe she went shopping." **_

"_Shopping? Yeah I guess that could be true."_

"_**Such impeccable eyesight is wasted on the likes of you."**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Look."**_

Bee blinked a few times and focused on the building across from where he was perched. He had been looking directly at Ginkiri through the windows but hadn't seen her.

"_Oh."_

"_**We see the same things, how do I always see more than you do?"**_

"_Shut-up,"_ Bee groused as he jumped across the divide towards the quickest access point into the building._ "Stupid octopus." _

"_**Idiotic boy," **_Hachibi countered.

"Found'ya," Bee laughed, coming up quickly behind Ginkiri.

Ginkiri jumped a little and spun around. "Wha?" she mumbled around a mouthful pastry, struggling to keep hold of all of her bags.

On her way back to Bee's…their apartment, she had passed a stand selling heavenly smelling confectionary wonders and just couldn't pass them up. She didn't really have time to stay and savor her little treat though and she couldn't hold it and her bags at the same time, so she had stuffed all of it in her mouth.

"Get hungry?" Bee laughed, eyeing the bags and the little crumbs still clinging to her chin and lips.

Ginkiri chewed as quickly as she could, the sight only further convincing Bee that she was indeed a chipmunk in human form. A strained and uncomfortable look crossed her features as she swallowed, then spoke.

"I was going to make breakfast but…well…"

Bee nodded in understanding, he knew that there wasn't much in his kitchen. He always ate out so there was never really any need to buy actual food.

"And then I got lost," Ginkiri continued. "But a nice woman showed me to the grocery store, she walked me over and everything…I think it's a little late for breakfast so I got stuff to make lunch."

"All of this is for lunch?" Bee chuckled, reaching out to take the heavier looking bags from her.

"Well…no, I got some other things too."

"So what are you gonna make?" Bee asked, nodding a little towards the direction of his apartment before walking.

"_Muffins_."

Bee arched a brow, muffins didn't sound like lunch…Actually with the way _she_ said muffins they sounded like something absolutely sinful.

"Oh."

"I have to go back to the store though. I…I really didn't think about how I would get everything back."

Bees eyes widened behind his glasses. There was even more than just this?

"_How much food does she think we need?"_

* * *

><p>"<em>See I could be a good cook if I wanted to be,"<em> Bee gloated to Hachibi.

"_**All you're doing is smashing bananas." **_

Bee looked down at the bowl of banana mush and shrugged. _"But I'm doing a damn good job at it."_

"What's that?" Bee asked as Ginkiri began adding the mixture from her bowl into the bowl containing his beautifully mashed bananas.

"Butter, vanilla, sugar, and an egg," Ginkiri smiled. "Now mix them."

Bee did as he was instructed while Ginkiri began adding the flour a little bit at a time. This whole cooking and baking business was new to him. Most children, of any gender, usually learned to cook from their parents but that was something he had missed out on. Shortly before he had been born his father had been chosen as the next jinchuriki for the eight tails as a replacement for Bee's uncle, who lost control of it. From what little he knew it was his understanding that his mother had become depressed, even though she knew there was a possibility that it could happen. She gave birth to Bee and tried to fight through her depression but when his father failed to keep Hachibi under control and died as a result it all became too much for her.

She released Bee into the care of Kumo and disappeared. He knew that she was still in Kumo but he had no memories of her, so as far as he was concerned she was gone.

"_**That's something you'll eventually need to talk to the Ginkiri about**_," said Hachibi, following Bees thoughts about his mother.

"_My mom?" _

"_**In a way yes. She needs to fully understand the situation." **_

"…_What situation?"_

"_**You have no siblings, your uncle only had one child and your predecessor never had children of their own. It is going to fall upon you to have a child who will act as my next Jinchuriki. Unless you have procured a technique to materialize children out of nothing Ginkiri, as your wife, will be part of that endeavor." **_

The spoon that Bee had been using to mix the muffin batter fell from his fingers as he turned and stepped back from Ginkiri.

Ginkiri stared, wide-eyed, at Bee. He was looking at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head or something.

"…Are you okay?" she asked.

"_I don't want kids," _Bee said to Hachibi in horror.

"_**Your line has been used as jinchuriki for…"**_

"_No."_

"_**What do you plan on doing then? You've been able to pacify me where others have not and I cannot guarantee that the one that follows after you will be able to do the same. But I do believe that the chances are higher if they continue to come from your line." **_

"_I'll…live forever. Then you won't need a new host and I won't need kids." _

"Bee-sama?" Ginkiri asked gently.

"I'm fine," Bee squeaked as he moved back to stir the batter. He was standing very straight and his movements were stiff, making him look like some sort of robot.

"Okay," Ginkiri said slowly. "Well…now we just need to add the walnuts and then we'll put the muffins in the oven to bake."

"_**Little muffins baking in the oven,"**_ Hachibi teased mercilessly.

"H-how long?" Bee asked, trying to sound interested and more importantly trying to ignore Hachibi.

"Twenty-five to thirty minutes," Ginkiri smiled.

"_**Usually about nine months," **_said Hachibi at the same time.

Bee felt his knees buckle a little but he managed to keep himself upright. "N-nine months, okay."

"Huh?" said Ginkiri turning to give Bee an odd look.

"Thirty minutes!" Bee corrected quickly. "I said thirty minutes."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: <strong>_Two things in here that might not be 100% true.

Bee being able to read other peoples "Hearts" has yet to be fully explained in the manga so I just kinda went with my own theory.

Bee's lineage- Bee's cousin (the jinchuriki before Bee) stated that both his uncle and father died as a result of losing control of Hachibi…but it's not clear if his uncle is Bee's father…but for the purposes of this story we're going to say that it is.

Thank you for your reviews ^_^


	9. Chapter 8: Assumptions

**_Chapter 8: Assumptions_**

* * *

><p><em>Don't Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.<em>

* * *

><p>"Bee," A sighed, settling back into his chair. "Why are you here?"<p>

His little brother had invited himself into his office and promptly began dancing around whatever subject he wanted to talk about. He hated when Bee did stuff like this and usually when he did, it meant that it was something important.

"Ginkiri is uh…is not a ninja?" said Bee, pacing around in uneven lines.

"No," A replied slowly. "All men women and children from the land of Iron are exclusively samurai."

"But she's not," Bee said, sounding a little hopeful.

"Mifune never properly trained her, no."

"And they don't use chakra in the same way right? Their chakra completely different, right?"

"The way they use it is different yes, however their chakra itself is the same."

"…but they wouldn't be able to use ninjutsu right?" Bee voice went from hopeful to borderline desperate. Thanks to Hachibi he was on edge. He wasn't particularly fond of kids and he was looking for some reassurance that he wasn't expected to have one.

Usually when a shinobi had a child with a civilian there was always a chance that the child wouldn't have any ninjutsu at all or would be limited. He really wasn't sure about samurai but if the odds were similar then he figured he could use it as an excuse _not_ to have children.

"Samurai use a different type of justu," said A, sounding a little distant. One massive hand came up to slowly smooth out his mustache as the gears in his head began turning. Samurai and Ninja were different and yet similar in many ways. Samurai, because they didn't utilize ninjutsu, relied on speed, kenjutsu and incredible chakra manipulation. A had never seen Mifune, or any samurai, in battle but he _had_ heard stories. There was a reason many ninja nations didn't go anywhere near Iron, through the use of laido, ninjutsu was near useless, making them formidable opponents.

A glanced at Bee as a slow grin spread across his face. Bee's little wife was _not_ completely trained but that didn't mean she didn't have the potential and more importantly it didn't mean that any children from her _couldn't_ be trained.

"_A kid with an innate aptitude for chakra manipulation and speed,"_ thought A. _"Paired with Bee's raw power…would be one hell of a kid."_

A's thoughts drifted further and further away, in the complete opposite direction of where Bee wanted them to go.

"How are you and Ginkiri getting along?" A asked suddenly, the many perks of this marriage coming to full bloom in his mind.

"She's okay…I mean she's nice and all," Bee replied awkwardly.

"Good, good," A nodded, not really listening. "So you think this might work then?"

"I dunno, I guess but…ungh…"

The queasy look on Bee's face accompanied by the uncertainty in his voice pulled A away from his visions of super sword wielding ninja children. "What's bothering you?"

"Was the whole point of _this_ just so I would have a kid?" Bee asked in one rushed breath.

A chuckled, twining his mustache between his thumb and forefinger. "Added benefit I think, but no."

"Benefit?" Bee scoffed.

"_She's_ not much but she _is_ Mifune's genetic material, so with proper training I think any children from her could be fine Kumo shinobi."

"You're trying to _breed_ me?"

"I'm not trying to breed you Bee, I'm simply seeing the upside of something that is essentially inevitable."

"Uh-uh!" Bee exclaimed. "Inevitable means unavoidable but I know exactly what I need to do, or not do to get around _that_."

"So you're going to practice marital abstinence for the remainder of your life?" A laughed, even though Bee didn't find it very funny. "I don't know why you're making such a fuss, I know you've had lovers in the past, the risks were the same with them. Having a child is preferable, for many reasons, but it's not something I can or would force you to do."

"Good," Bee huffed. "Caus' I'm the outlaw who don't like kids."

A shook his head, Bee had made that exact statement when he was given his three young apprentices and yet he got along just fine with them. He liked to think of himself as some lawless outlaw but of all the men he knew Bee was probably _the_ most likely to be the best father.

"If you say so," said A. "I guess things between you and Ginkiri must be going _really_ well if you're already worried about something like that."

"…huh?"

"If you're worried about kids then you must have…"

"What?" Bee choked. "_No_."

"Then _why_ are you here, getting your panties in a bunch over something that shouldn't matter yet?"

"Uh…"

"Bee get out of here," A sighed and chuckled at the same time.

* * *

><p>"He likes to horse around a lot," said Yugito as she sipped her tea. "But even though it doesn't seem like it, he does know how to be serious if he needs to be."<p>

Ginkiri tried to nod but it seemed more like a stiff jerk of her neck. Bee had left before the first batch of muffins had even come out of the oven and not twenty minutes later Yugito had knocked on the door. Ginkiri was still one hundred percent sure that this woman was Bee's lover and she didn't have a problem with that but she did find it odd that she would come over for the specific purpose of introducing herself.

Unsure of what to do Ginkiri treated this meeting like any other. She offered the woman tea, muffins and attempted polite conversation. Yugito did most of the talking though, with Killer Bee being her main subject.

"_Is this normal?"_ Ginkiri wondered.

"How long have you been with Bee?" she asked. The question was insane, even to her own ears, but she _was_ rather curious.

"Uh, years I guess," Yugito replied, assuming she was asking how long she had been friends with Bee.

"Oh," Ginkiri smiled uncomfortably. "I see."

"Yeah, I didn't know how to take him when I was younger but he sort of grows on you. Anyway… how do you like Kumo so far?"

"It's a little confusing," Ginkiri admitted.

"Bet Bee hasn't even shown you around properly yet huh?"

"I…well…he, um" Ginkiri stumbled over her words. She didn't want to say anything that would reflect poorly on Bee.

"It's okay, you can say no," Yugito smiled. "I have tomorrow off, _I_ could show you around if you would like."

Ginkiri blinked back her confusion. Establishing a cordial rapport with this woman was almost understandable but she wasn't too sure about getting any close than that.

"_I guess it could be a good thing…maybe. If she's an important part of Bee-sama's life then I should respect that and if we're on good terms…that…that could make it a little easier. She does seem awfully nice…" _

"I would like that," Ginkiri smiled.

"Yeah? Okay then, I'll check with Bee to make sure it's okay but I'm sure it will be fine."

The grading sound of a key being pushed into a lock went unnoticed to Ginkiri but not to Yugito. "Well I guess this is my queue to say farewell until tomorrow," said Yugito as she stood from her seat at the dining room table.

Before Ginkiri could ask the front door swung open and Bee trudged in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, eyeing Yugito.

"Seeing as you failed to introduce me like a proper gentleman would," Yugito said as she grabbed two more muffins from the basket on the table. "I figured I would come over and introduce myself for you."

"I was getting around to it," Bee grumbled.

"Of course you were," Yugito snorted, passing Bee on her way towards the still open door. "Hope you don't have anything planned for tomorrow because Ginkiri and I have arranged a little outing of our own."

With that she was gone, the door clicking closed even before Bee could reply.

"You okay with that?" Bee asked, motioning to the door with his thumb. His question was about going out tomorrow but Ginkiri took it differently.

"_Are you okay with my lover hanging around you?" –_is what she heard.

"Unless it bothers you," she said in a small voice.

"If you're fine with it, then I don't see any problem with it," Bee shrugged. "I'm going to take a shower."

"_Is everything so casual here?" _Ginkiri wondered, watching Bee as he walked down the hall towards his room.

Taking a deep breath, she chewed her bottom lip. All of this was going to take a lot of getting use to and if she ever saw Yana again she was going to mention that her tutelage was severely lacking in the customs and expectations of other nations.

* * *

><p>She had gotten up before Bee and Ginkiri felt very accomplished because of this. She <em>would<em> have rather been curled up in her bed but that Yugito woman hadn't said when they would be going out and she didn't want to be caught unprepared. Sleep still beckoned to her but she was doing everything in her power not to answer its siren call but even after several strong cups of tea she felt herself slipping.

"_I suppose I could take a small nap,"_ she mused, her back arching against the dining room chair. Her eyes slid shut and her arms lifted over her head, contorting in a long stretch that was accompanied by a silent yawn.

"Hey, you're awake."

Ginkiri's eyes snapped open, her arms still raised and mouth still open in mid-yawn. A woman of grace would try to hide the fact that she had been caught in such an act but any and all grace Ginkiri possessed was chased away by the sight of Killer Bee.

He was in the process of tying his forehead protector in place but a few key items were missing from his person, the most noticeable being his vest.

She had never seen a shirtless man before. In Iron walking around shirtless was considered inappropriate as well as illogical due to the cold temperatures.

Ginkiri choked out what should have been a "yes" as her limbs went slack. She was openly staring at him in a mixture of mortification and fascination but he didn't seem to notice.

"I figured since you were going out with Yugito I would check in with my team, make sure they aren't slacking off or anything," Bee explained, shuffling around the living room, still in view of Ginkiri.

All men, if they looked like Bee, should be banned from wearing anything above the waist Ginkiri decided. Though if that were to ever to become reality she knew she would probably never manage a coherent thought again.

Bee looked very…

…he was extremely…

Ginkiri's mouth went dry as she tried to define what she was seeing. He was… perfect. Each and every muscle was chiseled into flawless definition, as if carved out of marble. Satiny…perfect…marble… that strained and relaxed with his movements.

"Is that okay?" Bee asked as he clipped his bracers into place.

Ginkiri nodded mutely. He could do anything he wanted for all she cared at the moment. She watched as he dug through his pockets until he found what he was looking for, a set of rolled up bandages, which he then proceeded to wrap around his thighs.

"_I'm… I'm a…oh what does Kayono call them?"_ Ginkiri struggled to think._ "…uh…closet pervert…I'm a closet pervert."_

A strangled squeak escaped her throat at the revelation, prompting Bee to look at her.

"You smack yourself or somethin?" he asked, his brows pulled into a small frown.

"Huh?" Ginkiri breathed.

"Your nose is bleedin," said Bee.

"What?...oh…_oh_!"

Hachibi chuckled knowingly as Ginkiri's hand covered her nose as jumped up quickly. Bee might have not caught on but he had noticed the way she was looking at him.

"I could make breakfast if you like," Ginkiri said quickly, holding a paper towel to her nose. She was trying to draw attention away from what had just happened.

"Sure," Bee shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Mm-mm-mm, so <em>good<em>," Bee teased, around a mouthful of food. Lunch, he discovered, was an extremely good motivator for his three students. Ginkiri had made too much food the night before and again this morning and had offered to pack him a lunch. It took a little digging around but they eventually found four bento boxes, which hadn't seen the light of day in years, and she had put lunch together not only for him but for his students as well.

"We pushed as hard as we could," Karui whined. "What else do you want from us?"

"You'll get your lunch," Bee chuckled. "But I wanted to enjoy mine while looking at you pitiful bunch."

"Torture can't be good for your digestion," Omoi mumbled.

Bee grinned at the three of them. Even the ever stoic Samui looked annoyed.

"Not cool," the blond muttered. "I'm going home to eat."

"Hold up, hold up little missy, no need to start getting all pissy," Bee laughed, nudging the three boxes towards them.

"Well you're in a better mood," Karui sneered, tearing into her binto with perhaps more force than necessary.

"Yeah I guess so," Bee smiled. He had pushed aside Hachibi's disturbing comments and now that he was back into the swing of training everything wasn't so bad. If his little wife went about her own business and didn't bother him or nag him then he could see things working our just fine. In his mind it was like having a personal maid and cook. She would make him breakfast in the mornings, pack him a lunch, he would go train, come home, she would have dinner ready, he would relax, go to bed and then start everything over again the next day…or so he hoped.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that things wouldn't be so simple but those thoughts were ignored.

* * *

><p>She felt…<em>guilty<em>.

No, guilty didn't even fully cover everything but it was close. No matter how many times she tried to rationalize ogling Killer Bee it never worked out in her favor.

"_I'm a horrible, terrible, dirty, closet pervert,"_ she thought sullenly.

According to Yana any sexualized thoughts or feelings where _wrong_ and only harlots took pleasure in such things. For a woman the only purpose of sex was to bring children into the world and to please husbands.

"_Harlot," _she whimpered inwardly. If they weren't hundreds of feet up in the air she would have found a hole and lived in it… maybe start a nice little mushroom farm.

"Hey, don't let it bother you," Yugito said as she placed a gentle hand on Ginkiri's shoulder, successfully scaring the living daylights out of her. The taller blond had misinterpreted Ginkiri's sullen look, assuming that it was due to the catty looks she received from the group of women that had passed them earlier.

Ginkiri gaped up at Yugito, her feet stumbling as she tried to keep up with her brisk pace.

"_She knows," _her inner thoughts shrieked in horror._ "…but how…"_

"Here, let's go outside and sit down for a bit," Yugito offered, pointing to the set of glass doors that led out into a balcony area.

Ginkiri eyed the doors warily, she had gotten a little more accustomed with being so high up but she still avoided balconies at all costs. She didn't really feel like she was in the position to refuse though, as far as she knew this woman was somehow reading her mind.

"Okay," she mumbled, following behind Yugito with heavy resistant steps.

"Fresh air," Yugito smiled once outside. "Should make it easier to talk."

"Talk?"

"I doubt Bee would ever say anything so I guess it's going to fall on me to do it for him," Yugito explained, propping herself up against some railing.

Ginkiri's heart plummeted down to places that she didn't even know existed within her body. This conversation had the potential to go many different ways, none of them good in her opinion. The most likely topic would be some sort of set 'rules' regarding contact with her new husband. Technically _she_ was the wife so _she_ should be setting up these sorts of things, but honestly Ginkiri didn't care about what Bee did with his mistress so she wouldn't have any 'rules' anyway.

"Bee is," Yugito began slowly, trying to find the right way of saying what she wanted to say. "Well he's our village hero and guardian. Because of this he's also…uh…highly sought after by a number of women."

Ginkiri nodded stiffly.

"Starting a relationship with him can get you noticed and in the ninja community that can be a very good thing… but now, _now_ he's pretty much unattainable. Most women here are willing to set their sights on something else and move one but, as I'm sure you've noticed, some women are choosing to do the childish thing and take their frustration out on you. Try not to let it get you down though; even the most obnoxiously persistent women will lose interest eventually."

Ginkiri was having trouble processing what she was hearing, this conversation was not going how she had thought it would.

"…I'm not sure I understand."

"I noticed you were a little blue after getting those looks you received from those women and I just wanted to let you know that it's not you, it's them."

Bit by bit everything fell into place. Of course she had noticed the looks but she had never stopped to observe that almost all of them were from women.

"If…if it's just a relationship their looking for," Ginkiri stuttered. "I'm not…I mean…Well it's okay if…Killer Bee-sama is still allowed to do as he pleases…I'm not trying to take anything away."

Her statement was meant more specifically for Yugito, but it applied to any woman in general.

"It's only a marriage of convenience."

Yugito frowned, not liking what she was hearing one bit. Her family, like Bee with Hachibi, had always been hosts for Nibi, thus making their clan very prominent within Kumo. As such arranged marriage was still sometimes practiced so she knew, to some extent, the perils that came with such a thing. Her parents' marriage had been arranged but they had decided early on that they would work together to build a relationship and now they were still very much in love. She always considered herself lucky to have two parents that loved and respected each other because not everyone was so fortunate. Her aunt and uncle were stuck in an unhappy arranged marriage; they both had a lover of their own and tried to avoid each other as much as possible. It worked out okay for them but the same couldn't be said for their two children, both of whom were complete basket cases.

Marriage did not have to equal love but it did need to be a solid partnership. Solid partnerships could not be attained when outside and unneeded people were involved.

"So you would okay if Bee continued to date, even within this marriage?" Yugito asked carefully. She wanted to know Ginkiri's full standpoint before saying anything else.

"Of course," Ginkiri replied quickly, she didn't want Yugito thinking that she disapproved of her and Bee's relationship.

"What about you? Are you going to follow those same standards?"

"No," Ginkiri mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "My duty and obligation is to my husband… It wouldn't be fair or proper to split my attention and time in such a way."

"Bee's has obligations to you too, you know," Yugito said, sounding a little exasperated. She was never one to follow the whole 'submissive wife' routine. She knew that she was probably going to overstep her boundaries but she needed to open this girls eyes a little.

"I'm not sure that I'm following you…"

"Look, if you're going to be completely loyal in this marriage, which is the correct thing to do by the way, then you need to make it clear that you expect the same from Bee…or else both of you are headed towards one hell of a mess."

Ginkiri did not understand what was going on. Was Yugito _really_ telling her that she should tell Bee not to continue seeing her?

"…But what about you and Bee-sama"

"Me and Bee?" Yugito asked, her face twisting in confusion.

In that moment Ginkiri had a revelation, this woman was _not_ Bee's lover and whatever exchange she had witnessed at the reception had been completely misunderstood.

"You're not Bee's lover?" Ginkiri asked in a small voice, just to confirm.

* * *

><p>"Will you stop looking around like that, you're starting to make me nervous and there's no reason to be."<p>

Isawa frowned, turning a small glare towards Bee. "A lot of people knew about our relationship, being seen with me wouldn't be very good for you right now."

"People can think what they want but sneaking around implies that I'm doing something wrong which I'm not."

"Bee, why are you here?" Isawa sighed. Her shift at the hospital that day had been long and taxing and it wasn't even over yet. She was somewhat glad to see Bee but he was drudging up emotions that tore at her already mentally fragile state.

"Just checkin on you," Bee mumbled.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Isawa huffed, looking away from him. There were some days that Bee could be the most empathetic being on the planet and then there were other days that he just didn't seem to grasp other people's emotions at all.

"I appreciate that you care enough to want to make sure that I'm okay," she said. "But the truth is I'm not okay and I'm probably not going to be okay for a while. Stuff like this…it just makes it harder to let go…"

"What do you _want_ me to do then?"

"What do I want…_argh_, Bee the question should be what _did_ I _not_ want you to do… What I want doesn't matter apparently."

Isawa shook her head and turned away from Bee with the intention of going back inside the hospital.

"Isawa," Bee pleaded, reaching out to catch her by the wrist.

"Bee, let _go_," Isawa demanded, still not looking at him.

* * *

><p>"You sure it was Bee?" A asked, staring intently at C as he tried to process the information being given to him.<p>

"Positive," C nodded.

"And who was he with?"

"Uh, Isawa Kijimuta, she's one of the head nurses at the hospital," said C. It had been by freak chance that C had happened upon Isawa and Bee. He had been on his way out of the hospital and like with many buildings within Kumo it was easier to go out the top rather than any other access points. He had spotted the two three levels below him and stopped to observe what was going on. "I didn't even know they had any sort of relationship."

"He kissed her?"

"I think it was more of a mutual…"

"He kissed her," A repeated again. He didn't need any details just straight facts.

"Yes sir."

"What the hell is that idiot thinking?" A growled.

"It's Killer Bee sir," C said slowly, as if that would explain everything.

"This had to of been going on before the marriage. If he was seeing someone he should have _said_ something, I would have understood. Does he have any idea how poorly this could reflect on us?"

"I beg your pardon sir but it's really not that uncommon," C offered.

"Not uncommon among pride-less aristocratic pricks but among shinobi is pretty fucking rare. If Mifune hears about this things will get tense, I think it would be best to do damage control now."

"What do you mean sir?"

"Get Bee in here, if we call off this marriage now we might still be able to save a little face."

* * *

><p>"Panties?"<p>

"Shorts," Yugito laughed, looking down at the shorts she had handed to Ginkiri.

"Their kind of short," said Ginkiri with a frown.

Yugito shook her head but didn't say anything; the shorts when worn would probably reach past mid-thigh, still a modest length in her opinion.

"Um, Yugito-san," Ginkiri murmured uncertainly. "You won't mention my uh…misunderstanding to Killer Bee-sama will you?"

"No, don't worry, I won't say anything," Yugito smiled. The idea of her and Bee being lovers had been one of the funniest things she had heard in a while but she wasn't going to embarrass Ginkiri by telling Bee about her assumption.

"Thank you."

"So are you going to stick with those?" Yugito asked, motioning to the clothes draped over her arm. After a good laugh, at Ginkiri's expense, Yugito had asked if there was anywhere specific that she wanted to go. Ginkiri had hinted at wanting to find a store where she could purchase at least one casual outfit. Originally Ginkiri had only wanted to know where one was so she could come back later on her own but Yugito had pulled her to the nearest clothing store and proceeded to "help" her shop.

Having Yugito around made it tad more difficult to shop though, because Ginkiri had to find ways of politely declining most of the things she suggested.

"Yes, I think these will work," said Ginkiri. "Hopefully Killer Bee-sama will be less worried about my casual attire if I wear these."

Yugito smirked. _"Leave it to Bee to get weirded out by kimonos and yukatas,"_ she thought.

* * *

><p>"Hey bro how's it…"<p>

"Call it off," said A, cutting Bee off the moment he closed the office door.

"What?"

"I want you to call this marriage off," A explained, keeping his tone even. He wanted to yell but Bee didn't completely disserve that. He was upset that Bee had gone along with everything without saying anything but he wasn't necessarily upset with him because of the relationship he was having with that woman. "It's not something I can do for you, but I will take care of everything else once you have."

"Call if off?...Why?"

"Isawa Kijimuta."

"Oh," Bee breathed.

"Bee if you would prefer being with that woman why didn't you _say_ something? I wouldn't have forced you to get married."

"_**Here's your way out Bee,"**_ Hachibi muttered. _**"Call of the marriage, settle down with Isawa. Just what you wanted right?"**_

"_I never said I wanted to settle down with her."_

"_**Apparently you can't let her go, what else would you want? With Ginkiri out of the picture, you're free to marry Isawa."**_

"_Marry her…I don't think…"_

"_**If you call this marriage off it's what Isawa will expect. Why else would you terminate a marriage with such great benefits for the village? That would reflect a great amount of love and devotion on your part." **_

"It's not like that," Bee sighed aloud to both A and Hachibi.

"You were seen earlier this afternoon with her," said A.

"By who?"

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that it was brought to my attention. Bee, I don't hold it against you but I can't have you doin shit like that. Could fuck up a lot of things. So if there's something goin on, I _need_ to know _now_ so I can do what's needed to fix this mess."

"She was upset and… I didn't know what else I could do to calm her down. I _was_ seein her but I broke it off…this was just ah…it was a mistake okay?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:<em>** Longest chapter so far purely because I was having trouble finding a stopping point.

Anywho, thanks again for the reviews, they give me motivation :P

On a weird note, the last half of this was written with a little duckling in my shirt XD. Rescued it from my cat and couldn't find it's momma…apparently I'm momma now because it refuses to chill out on its own :P


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